The Massachusetts women’s club hockey team defeated Arizona in an intense 1-0 matchup on Friday in its first game back in Amherst since Dec. 6, 2025. The Minutewomen (14-7-2) persevered through a tight game against the Wildcats (11-6-1) to bring their win streak to seven games.
The game winning goal was a power play score from forward Gianna Bonfilio with about five minutes remaining in the second period after Arizona forward Lilly Howell received a slashing penalty. Defender Shelby Little passed the puck to forward Joanna Zhu to her left at the offensive blue line, who fired the puck to the net. Wildcats goaltender Olivia Sorlie stuck out her right pad to make the initial save, but Bonfilio charged for the rebound and put the puck in the top of the net for the only goal of the game and her fourth of the season.
Despite Friday’s game being a low scoring one, UMass is coming off an 8-0 victory against Rhode Island on Feb. 1 and have shown offensive dominance in winning 10 of its last 11 games.
“We’re just playing hard,” head coach Bill Wright said. “We’re doing what we need to do to win the games. We’re not fancy.”
Friday’s win marks Sarah Matthews’ third shutout in a row, stopping 32 shots to help pull the Minutewomen to victory. The Illinois native was a strong force from start to finish, with her third save of the night being off a breakaway from Arizona forward Lily Waxenberg, and her final saves coming in the final seconds of the game as the Wildcats pressed for a tying score.
“[Matthews is] our backbone,” Wright said. “She’s there, and the girls can play free. Both our goaltenders are strong, but [Matthews is] our starter…the team knows it, and she’s [a] team captain for a reason.”
A big turning point came after UMass forward Maya Shapiro left the game with an injury about halfway through the second period. Although the hit that injured Shapiro did not result in a penalty, all seven of the game’s penalties came after the hit; three for the Minutewomen and four for Arizona. From that moment on, the game became much more physical as each team fought for the first goal of the night.
“We can play physical,” Wright said. “We’ve got decent size as well. We can do what they can do.”
The grit of the team will be tested, as UMass is currently missing two other players due to injury. Forward Kerry Balerna is out with a rib injury, and Kennedy Pierson is out for the remainder of the season with a leg injury.
Prior to puck drop, senior captain Shelby Little was recognized for playing her 100th game with the Minutewomen on Saturday, Jan. 31 against Rhode Island. The Avon, Conn. native leads all UMass defenders in points with 12 in 23 games.
“[Little’s] been there since day one,” Wright said. “She’s come in, she’s grown as a person, she’s grown as a player.”
This matchup against the Wildcats begins a series of three games in three days for the Minutewomen at the Mullins Center Community Rink, as they face Arizona again on Saturday and Michigan State on Sunday.
UMass looks to extend its win streak to eight games in another match against the Wildcats on Saturday, Feb. 7 at 12:20 p.m., hosting for the second straight game.
Madison Keddy can be reached at [email protected]
