Stefanie Marty, a junior forward on the Syracuse ice hockey team, netted three goals for her native Switzerland in a 5-2 victory against Slovakia Wednesday in the opening round of the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Marty, the only Winter Olympian in SU Athletics history, has been a part of the Swiss National Team since 2003, playing in both the Torino games in 2006 and Vancouver in 2010.

Marty has been skating with the Swiss women’s national team since the age of 15.

After tallying an assist in Monday’s 10-1 loss to Canada, Marty exploded in a crucial matchup that lifts the Swiss team from the bottom of Group A. Currently, the team is 1-2 in round-robin play, sitting behind Canada and Sweden. The win puts the Swiss in the consolation tournament, as they missed out on the medal round, failing to finish in the top two of their group after the opening stage.

After reaching a Frozen Four with New Hampshire in 2008, Marty transferred to Syracuse to join head coach Paul Flanagan in the team’s inaugural season, scoring 10 goals and tallying 12 assists ? leading the team in points.

This season, Marty has scored 13 goals and 15 assists for the Orange (17-14-1, 8-6 CHA), good for the third-highest point total on the team.

Before leaving for Vancouver, Marty’s teammates said they would miss her knack for creating points, something the team needs during the preparation for its conference tournament, which starts on March 4 in Detroit.

‘It’s big shoes to fill because she does produce a lot of goals,’ junior forward Julie Rising said. ‘Hopefully we can give other people a chance and they can produce the same amount. I’ll miss her.’

ctorr@syr.edu

Published on February 17, 2010 at 12:00 pm