Taking a bold stride on the ice isn’t anything new for longtime Lady Duck Maggie Grijalva. Each time she’s done it the stakes have gotten a bit bigger, however.

This season, she will be part of the inaugural women’s team at Hood College in Fredrick, Md., about an hour west of Baltimore and north of Washington, D.C.

It’s a challenge the goaltender embraces.

“I was skeptical about the whole first-year program idea because I wanted to be part of an established program,” Grijalva said. “The more I thought about a first-year team and being part of history, it was pretty neat and not an experience everyone gets.”

Grijalva is one of nearly three dozen former Lady Ducks playing some level of college hockey for the 2024-25 season.

Grijalva Played 11 Seasons for the Lady Ducks

The 2006 birth year started playing hockey at the age of 5 — the first person in her family to try the sport. Two years later, she was playing U8 for the Lady Ducks … as a center. 

“I played center until I was 11,” she said. “Our 8U coaches wanted all of us to try playing goalie. I played it once and had a good time, but I didn’t take it seriously or think it was a possibility that’s how I’d get to play in college.”

Grijalva eventually played one season as both a forward and a goalie. Before her first 12U season, she switched full-time to the net at a coach’s recommendation.

“One coach told me it would be better to pick one position,” she recalled. “It was a tough decision, but there is something special about goalie. I’ve loved it ever since.”

Grijalva also takes pride in the fact that she stayed with the position through its inevitable ups and downs and that she stayed with the Lady Ducks.

“I played 11 seasons with the LDs, from 8U through my senior year,” she said. “I had the option to play at prep schools, but I wanted to prove that isn’t the route you have to take to go to college. I wanted to stay home, and I didn’t feel ready to play.

“Eleven seasons of playing California hockey, and I loved every second of it.”

RENEWED ENTHUSIASM, HARD WORK OPENED DOORS

Grijalva was playing 14U AAA when the pandemic hit, and she took some time off after that, returning to the ice in 2021-22 to play 16U AA after some self-reflection.

“I took my foot off the pedal to try to regain my confidence and improve myself,” she said. “I ended up being called up to 19U AAA by coach Lilli (Marchant). She put her faith in me. That was really special.”

Playing against girls as many as three years older was a challenge Grijalva was well-equipped for, Marchant said. 

“The biggest thing was her physical capabilities on the ice,” Marchant said. “And her maturity level was well above what her age was.

“She’s always supportive of her teammates and was great at noticing if someone was down and lifting their spirits. … She was always in the mix to keep the energy level of the team high.”

The athletic Grijalva, who also played lacrosse for three years at El Dorado High School, became a mainstay on the 19U AAA team over the next two seasons, finishing the 2023-24 campaign with a .922 save percentage and a 2.00 goals-against average. 

There were several reasons for her improvement.

“What stands out most is her willingness to continue to improve,” Marchant said. “She’s very coachable. She always showed up at dryland, practices, and games. Her mindset was present always. It’s a quality for a coach that is so awesome because you know that the player is there to work. She’s very good at analyzing her game and finding ways to improve.

“She’s a really good communicator on the ice as well. If she can’t see a puck, she’ll let teammates know.”

Lady Ducks College Tour Helped Grijalva Discover Future Possibilities

As Grijalva improved, her dream of playing college moved within reach. 

“I went on the LDs college tour with Caroline (Marchant) two years ago,” she recalled. “We went to 32 schools in a week in New York — D3s, D1s, and one or two ACHA programs. I saw all the different possibilities for college hockey at different-sized schools.

“It was incredible how she sets it up. There were alumni to talk to. Our parents weren’t with us, so the girls had to think for themselves about what they wanted. There were a few schools I got in contact with. Those college tours are massive, and the Marchants do an incredible job setting them up.”

Yet it wasn’t a New York school that ultimately caught Grijalva’s attention, though she said a few were on her final list. Rather, it was a program she’d never heard of.

“Throughout the recruitment process, I used NCSA, so I’d get notifications on open spots,” she said. “One day, Hood popped up. I didn’t know they had college hockey in Maryland. 

“Coach Josh (Funk) was awesome with communicating, and I got to visit in April 2023. I loved the school and the Frederick community. Hood is a small school with only 1,600 students, and that was an appeal, too.”

The Blazers’ initial women’s hockey cohort is exclusively freshmen with one sophomore. Grijalva says her teammates realize they have their work cut out for them, but they embrace the challenge. 

“We’ve been active on the ice between captain’s skates and now practices and in the weight room,” she said. “It’s a lot harder than youth hockey — it’s been a big jump.”

Lilli Marchant began her college hockey career at Lindenwood when the program was in its fifth Division I season and knows well the hurdles a young program will encounter. She said Grijalva is ideally wired for such a situation.

“Maggie’s probably the best kid for a situation like that,” Marchant said. “You have to be able to adapt and adjust to being in a new program. A personality like hers will flourish because she’s able to adjust and be positive with her teammates, no matter if it’s high or low. She’s always focused and driven.”

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Lady Ducks in College Hockey

NCAA Division I

• Alexis Fields, Yale
• Allie Lalonde, Northeastern
• Samantha Phelan, St. Lawrence
• Madisyn Ryan, Maine
• Lily Yovetich, Northeastern

NCAA Division III

• Lily Abraham, Suffolk University
• Gia Avalone, Adrian College
• Kaila Bush, Amherst College
• Leah Connor, Trine University
• Mikala Gould, Buffalo State University
• Maggie Grijalva, Hood College
• Aiden Levee-Oshiro, Suffolk University
• Megan Martodam, Colby College
• Erin Mcglynn, Western New England University
• Briony Retasket, Albertus Magnus University
• Miya Silva, Buffalo State University
• Kimberly Solmayor, Salva Regina University
• Julia Vicente, Augsburg College
• Aubriella Westphal, Marian University

ACHA

• Addie Atwell, Rochester Institute of Technology
• Minnie Fehr, Wisconsin
• Ava Gargiulo, Michigan
• Mia Kirrin, Michigan
• Gabby Mansour, Denver
• Sandrine Ponnath, Michigan
• Elle Rutherford, Maryville University
• Aziana Schacht, University
• Emmersyn Stoddard, University
• Lauren Wasserman, Maryville University
• Brooke Weller, Pennsylvania