Women’s ice hockey is underway at the Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina.
Dartmouth College student Michaela Hesova competed as a goalie for Team Czechia against Team USA on Thursday.
Hesova, who is expected to graduate from Dartmouth in 2028, made her Olympic debut.
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She had been fighting an illness before traveling to Italy, but told News 9 she was excited for the opportunity.
“We just launched our first girls U16 league, and that’s the only girls league. We don’t have any girls’ leagues. You all play with boys until like 15, and then you either have to go to Sweden, Finland, North America,” Hesova said. “It’s very difficult to, like, make it in hockey from Czech, and so, I think that’s like extra fuel that milk will be fueling us.”
Team USA beat Czechia 5-1 in the preliminary round.
Hesova and her team will look to bounce back Friday against Switzerland.