Emma Soderberg to Return for Fifth Year with UMD Women’s Hockey Team

Soderberg wrapped up her senior season earning Goalie of the Month honors for march from the Hockey Commissioners Association, thanks to her stellar run in the NCAA tournament.

DULUTH, Minn. – UMD senior goaltender Emma Soderberg has notified the women’s hockey team that she will be returning next season for her fifth year with the program.

Soderberg says at first, she was unsure about coming back. But the team’s loss in the national title game definitely influenced her decision after she had some conversations with her family, as well as some other teams back in Sweden.

“If I was going to stay in the U.S., it was gonna be UMD. There’s no other place I want to be. This program has given me so much and I don’t think I would be where I am today if it wasn’t for UMD. Last year, we got to the Frozen Four, made it into the semifinals this year. We got one game further. So if we continue on that journey, I think it’s gonna be a pretty good spring in Duluth,” Soderberg said.

“She has intangibles that we love and she’s been in all the biggest moments of this program in the past few years. It’s a fantastic fit and it’s a really good feeling moving forward,” head coach Maura Crowell said.

Soderberg’s decision has had a ripple effect on the roster as sophomore JoJo Chobak, who was stellar in net when Soderberg was at the Olympics, has entered the transfer portal.

“Our ideal situation was going to be to have both of them and split time. Sods was good with that and JoJo wanted more. She has a right to go in the portal and see what she can find. And I like that players can go and play. It just kind of is what it is. They have a lot of rights right now and they want to use them and I think I generally support it,” said Crowell.

Soderberg wrapped up her senior season earning Goalie of the Month honors for march from the Hockey Commissioners Association, thanks to her stellar run in the NCAA tournament.