BROOKLYN, NY, May 23, 2017 – The New York Riveters have re-signed three players for the 2017-18 season: forwards Lauren Wash and Cheeky Herr and goaltender Sarah Bryant.
Wash, from Princeton, N.J., had one goal and two assists in 8 games after joining the Riveters in the middle of the 2016-17 season.
“After playing just the second half of the season last year, I loved it, but it felt like unfinished business,” said Wash. “I believe we have something special at the Riveters. I’m really excited to be returning to the NWHL and what will be a great team next season.”
Wash played four years of collegiate hockey from 2012 – 2016 while studying Communications at RPI, amassing 24 goals and 23 assists for 47 points over 130 games. As a sophomore in 2013-14, Wash led the Engineers with 12 goals and five assists for 17 points in 33 games.
She developed as a player in the New Jersey Rockets program – playing boys’ hockey until age 15 before joining the girls’ program. She credits her father – who was a player and referee in the New Jersey area – and her mother, who took up ice hockey when Lauren was in high school and still plays today – as the inspirations to her career.
Besides Wash, Herr and Bryant, the Riveters previously re-signed goaltender Katie Fitzgerald and forwards Tatiana Rafter and Rebecca Russo.
Julia “Cheeky” Herr was scoreless in two games with the Riveters last season, but may see an increased role in 2017-18. In 90 games over four years at Trinity College from 2012-2016, Herr had 38 goals and 44 assists for 82 points. She graduated Trinity cum laude with honors with a degree in History and Classics.
Besides playing in the NWHL, Herr works in Equity Institutional Sales for a banking institution.
“I am incredibly excited, privileged, and honored to have an opportunity to join such a great organization and exceptional group of women for another season,” said Herr. “I love hockey. It has been a part of my life for 21 years. This league provided me with the opportunity to keep playing the sport that has brought so much joy to my life, but most importantly, it provides every little girl out there playing the hope and dream (one that didn’t exist when we were playing), that one day, if they work really hard, they can play professionally too.”
On her career in finance, Herr shared some thoughts:
“I love my job because it allows me to be client-facing and build relationships with people as well as read research; it allows me to be put a little bit of me on everything, give it my own mark, but also provide for the client.
“I think it is really important to not just find a job, but find a job that you enjoy with people whom you like. I spend anywhere from 12-14 hours with my team at work, literally working side-by-side. A career provides people with self-sufficiency and the opportunity to always strive to be better. The most important thing to remember is to always work hard, in everything you do. Like hockey, finance is a male-dominated profession, it is always exciting to continue to make strides in being another woman to join this profession.”
Sarah Bryant saw limited action in two games last season with the Riveters. She played four years at Providence, where she finished her collegiate career fourth on the Friars’ all-time saves list with 1,564. Before Providence, Bryant played in the New Jersey Colonials and the Lawrenceville School girls’ programs, and with the New Jersey Penguins (girls), the Bethlehem Blast (girls and boys), Parkland School District (coed), and the Lehigh Valley Comets (boys).
“I’m looking forward to being with the Riveters for another season,” said Bryant. “Although we are still awaiting the announcement of others, I am thrilled to have Fitzy, Tatiana, Russo, Lauren, and Cheeky as teammates.”
Bryant, who earned her B.S. in Biology from Providence, is transitioning from a job in biomedical research to a teaching fellowship in which she will earn a Masters from the University of Pennsylvania and teach high school biology her my alma mater, the Lawrenceville School.
“I am excited to have the opportunity to help form a new generation of passionate scientists and critical thinkers through my teaching at Lawrenceville,” said Bryant. “I believe that every person, whether they pursue science as a career or not, will benefit from the ability to look at everyday household problems or larger societal problems through the lens of science. It is indescribably important to me that the next generation of leaders in all fields be scientifically literate.”
