When Noelle Woodard arrived at Neumann in the fall of 2023, it was the first time she had set foot on campus. An in-person recruiting visit was more than a bit inconvenient for the young woman from Post Falls, Idaho.

Three years later, Woodard describes her Neumann experience as a great fit. “It’s better than I could have expected, and I’m grateful for everything that Neumann has brought me.”

Academically, she is on track to finish her bachelor’s degree in health sciences with a minor in strength and conditioning in May and plans to return in the fall to pursue a master’s degree in athletic training.

In the athletic arena, she is an assistant captain and respected member of the women’s ice hockey team and has already carved her name into the Knights’ record book. As a goalie with 42 games under her belt, she has amassed 1,260 saves – eighth all time in the history of the program.

She intends to play next year, using her fourth year of eligibility as a graduate student, and should certainly move up in the rankings.

Woodard, 20, began playing ice hockey in middle school as a forward, influenced by three older siblings (two brothers and a sister) who also played the sport.

“Halfway through my first season, our goalie got a concussion and was out for the season,” she recalls. “Our coaches were frantic for a goalie, and I volunteered. From there, I fell in love with the position. It was kind of my calling, I guess.”

She continued her hockey career, playing on girls’ and boys’ teams through high school in suburban Post Falls, which is located at the base of the Idaho panhandle just west of Coeur d’Alene, a mid-sized resort town on a lake.

The Neumann admissions staff, of course, rarely attends college fairs in northern Idaho. Fortunately, Woodard already had a connection to the Knights.

“When I played for the Coeur d’Alene Hockey Academy in my freshman year of high school, I played with Cecilia Mick, a senior who went to Neumann. I reached out to her, and she only had good things to say, so I contacted the coach and the rest is history.”

Her success as a goalie, she explains, is based on grit. “It’s having the fight to think ‘next puck, next puck’ and keep that adrenaline going. It’s exhilarating. I like the challenge.”

The next challenge, a year down the road, is finding work as an athletic trainer. “I love being around sports and the team environment and being able to help bring athletes back to their full potential. I want to be a part of that.”

Her goalie grit will come in handy during the job search and later, as she looks to achieve her long-term goal, becoming a physical therapist.