Photo Credit: Freeze Frame Photos
In St. Louis, Missouri on Wednesday, March 18th, the three-time defending national champions, the Sault College Cougars (3-0), delivered a statement performance at the 2026 ACHA DII Women’s National Tournament semi-final, defeating the University of St. Thomas Tommies (3-0) by a commanding 7-0 scoreline.
Both teams entered the semi-final undefeated and full of momentum. The Cougars secured their spot with a 2-1 win over Providence College in their final round robin game, while the Tommies advanced following a 3-0 shutout victory over Liberty University. However, it was Sault College that controlled the pace from start to finish in this matchup.
The Cougars opened the scoring early in the first period. At 2:55, Taryn Sullivan found the back of the net, assisted by Payton Stos and Danika West, to give Sault College a 1-0 lead. Sullivan struck again at 12:49 with her second goal of the game, this time unassisted, extending the lead to 2-0 heading into the intermission.
Sault College continued to build momentum in the second period. Just 3:04 in, Danika West scored unassisted to make it 3-0. At 10:24, Emma Lee added to the tally with a goal assisted by Materia Land. West picked up her second goal of the game at 15:48, again unassisted, pushing the Cougars’ lead to 5-0 after two periods.
In the third, the Cougars showed no signs of slowing down. At 7:03, Aaliyah Fantazir scored, with assists from Reece Laidlaw and Gracie Dale, making it 6-0. Katelynn Jacques capped off the dominant performance at 16:02 with an unassisted goal to seal the 7-0 victory.
Between the pipes, Danali Forsyth was flawless for Sault College, stopping all 16 shots she faced to earn the shutout. On the other end, Sydney Ries made 40 saves on 47 shots in a valiant effort despite the loss.
With the win, the Cougars advance to the 2026 ACHA DII Women’s National Championship in what will be an all-Canadian showdown. Sault College will face the Assiniboine College Cougars from Brandon, Manitoba, with puck drop set for 6:00 p.m. (EST) on Thursday, March 19th in St. Louis, Missouri.
The Cougars now sit one win away from capturing their fourth consecutive national title.
