Sam Sitterly Fueled Shorthanded Eastern Michigan to a Memorable Inaugural Season
Sam Sitterly had plenty of options when considering where to play women’s college hockey.
The allure of playing on a newly formed team drew her attention to Eastern Michigan.
The gamble with the new program paid off for Sitterly. Serving as Eastern Michigan’s captain, she helped lead the group to an undefeated campaign and a trip to the ACHA Division 2 National Championships in the team’sinaugural season.
“After a few calls, I immediately fell in love because I loved the idea that we would be starting something,” Sitterly said. “I thought that our first season might not be the best, but I was so in love with the idea that we got to build something and make history no matter how the first season went. I wanted to be part of that.”
Not only did Eastern Michigan finish the regular season with an 18-0-1 record, but the Eagles did so with just 10 freshman players — eight skaters and two goalies.
“It has definitely beaten every expectation I had before I came here,” Sitterly said. “I’ve never played with this short of a bench. When you have a good team and coaches around you, you forget that you’re tired and your adrenaline is so high that you don’t care if your legs are burning. You just want to win for your coaches and teammates who are sticking it out with you.”
Head coach Taylor Costella and associate head coach Leah Mousigianbrought the group together in its first season. Costella said that they both had opportunities to play competitive high-level hockey growing up, but they wanted to give other women the chance to pursue their education at Eastern Michigan and play collegiate hockey.
“We might be the coaches, but the girls do all of the hard work,” saidCostella, who graduated from Eastern Michigan in 2022. “It’s pretty much iron man hockey — they’re out there for so long. They work so hard for each other, and us and the school … they’re facing teams with full rosters. It’s incredible.”
The biggest key for Eastern Michigan’s success has been conditioning this season. While playing with such a small bench seems like a disadvantage, Sitterly pointed ways the Eagles have benefitted from their small roster.
“Eight skaters sounds crazy and terrible, but it’s normal for us and I love it now,” she said. “You get a lot of time on the ice to jell with your teammates and get to know one another.”
That strong camaraderie has fueled the team this season. Costella and Mousigian said they could’ve recruited more players for Eastern Michigan’s first season, but the on- and off-ice chemistry has been perfect between the 10 players currently on the roster.
“Playing with 10 players isn’t ideal, but we picked the right 10 and that’s all that matters,” Mousigian said. “We picked good people who created a family dynamic, and they want to be here. We could’ve had a full roster, but it might not be a good fit for our culture. They put their heads down and get to work and that’s all that matters in the end.”
Eastern Michigan started the season with a 3-2 win against Central Michigan and followed that up with a tie against Aurora. Since then, the Eagles won their next 16 games en route to an appearance in the national championships.
Eastern Michigan finished as the No. 2 team in the Central Region rankings but held the top spot for four of six total weeks.
“I can’t describe how amazing it feels and how happy I am for the girls who took a chance and wanted to build something and got rewarded for it,” Sitterly said. “We didn’t have seniors to lean on. We leaned on each other, we all have a leadership role on the team, we worked to create a family-first environment and all 10 of us get along really well.”
Sitterly has been the catalyst for Eastern Michigan all year. She led ACHA Division 2 with 70 points in 18 games — tallying 31 goals and 39 assists — to win the 2025 Zoe Harris National Player of the Year Award.
Sitterly, a psychology major, also excelled as a student, boasting a 3.98 GPA.
“I didn’t expect this kind of a season, but I have to credit my coaches and teammates for always supporting me,” Sitterly said. “I don’t get those four points per game unless people pass me the puck so I can score, or they score off my pass.”
As a reward for its success, Eastern Michigan will play the 2025-2026 season as an ACHA Division 1 team.
“We worked hard this season to get [to Division 1],” Sitterly said. “It’s definitely been a goal to move up because we know our potential. It’s really exciting, and I’m excited to see what’s in store for us next year and beyond.”
Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.
Source: usahockey.com