'It's so much fun': Saskatoon Sisters win NCAA national champion
'It's so much fun': Saskatoon Sisters win NCAA national champion
The Shirley sisters from Saskatoon helped the University of Wisconsin Badgers capture the NCAA Women’s national hockey title.
“It was insane. It's so much fun,” said Sophie Shirley.
“To be able to win, and especially I feel like in the dramatic ending that we did…I think made it even more special.”
“It feels like these past few days, I don't know if it's really sunk in,” said Grace Shirley. “It's just such a crazy feeling, really surreal.”
The Badgers 2023 tournament was one the sister won’t forget – beating Long Island University, then, the number 3 (Colgate University Raiders), 2 (University of Minnesota Golden Gophers), and 1 (The Ohio State University Buckeyes) seed to take the title.
“Winning against Colgate made us realize it was a switch in our brains we deserve to be where we are,” said Sophie. “To be able to play those higher-ranked teams was something that was obviously pretty cool.”
The sisters say “if there is anyone who knows how to win a game when you're an underdog it's him,” when referring to their coach – Mark Johnson.
He was a member of the 1980 USA "Miracle on Ice" team that defeated the heavily-favoured Soviet Union at the Olympics.
The Badgers beat the Gophers 3-2 in overtime, where Sophie found the back of the net. Then, in the national championship, winning 1-0 over the Buckeyes.
“Those two games were super intense and super close games,” said Grace.
The girls have played together for four years and knew this would be their last season together with Sophie being in her fifth and final year of eligibility. They realized every win meant another game together.
“If we went to Colgate and didn't win one of those games, that would have been our last together. So, I was just really trying to capture and picture it could be our last game together,” said Grace.
In 2021 the two won a national championship together. The opportunity to win together again is one they will never forget.
“A special moment and one that I definitely will forget,” said Sophie “I can't think of a better storybook ending,” she added.
“It was amazing, and obviously going out on a winning note makes it that much better,” said Grace.
The sisters' four-year journey together with games played in United States Midwest and Eastern states, long bus rides and flights, practices and study sessions might be what they remember more than the final destination as NCAA national champions.
“It's pretty rare that you get to spend any time, let alone four years, at the same school and your dream school with your sister,” said Grace.
“I'm just grateful that I got this amount of time to be able to be around my sister and hang around my sister and kind of go through all these experiences together,” said Sophie.
At the championship game, the girls' parents made it down for what would be their last game together.
“I think I miss it already,” Tim Shirley said. “Thinking about which hockey I'm going to be watching next hockey season. It's something which I'll definitely miss.”
Sophie arrived at the University after it had won a total of four national championships. She leaves the school with it having seven, the most of any women’s hockey program.
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