CHESTERFIELD, MO – Grace Zarzecki won’t sneak up on anybody who follows women’s hockey. A two-time member of the U.S. National U18 Team and a Harvard University signee, her pedigree speaks for itself. That’s good, because Zarzecki doesn’t say much about her accomplishments on the ice.

You can even ask her. She’s just not going to freely offer any self-congratulatory remarks. That’s why it came as no surprise that after leading the Chicago Mission to the title at the Central District Tier I 19U Kohlman Cup, she only mentioned her four goals after some prodding.

She tabbed three in the decisive game and the game-winner in the tournament opener.

Fortunately, those around Zarzecki have no problem seeing her value.

“Her will to win is probably one of the highest of any kid I’ve ever coached,” Mission coach Tony Cachey said. “She doesn’t really lead vocally, but she leads by example in her work ethic at practice and games.”

Zarzecki scored the overtime goal in a 2-1 victory against Madison Capitols on Friday. Then she scored all of Mission’s goals in a 3-1 victory Saturday against Madison, the only other 19U team competing in the Central District championship.

Neither Missouri nor Midwest fielded teams this year. However, the Central District placed four teams in the Toyota-USA Hockey Girls Tier I 19U National Championships March 26-30 in Green Bay, Wis.

This is the first year that the national event includes at-large teams. Two of those in the 19U bracket come from the Central District with the Capitols and the Chicago Young Americans earning selections. Central’s fourth team is Team Wisconsin, which received an automatic berth by virtue of hosting the event.

Zarzecki will be among the best players in the division. Her statistics and accolades speak for themselves. They just don’t tell the whole story. Mission goalie Amber Samonek appreciates more than just Zarzecki’s prolific scoring.

“It gives me more confidence because I know my team has my back,” she said. “I have good defense in front of me, I have forwards that will put the puck in the net, kind of help in the D zone as well, especially with her because she’s a big part of our team.”

College hockey will find out next year.

Zarzecki had as many options as almost any high school senior this year. While she didn’t talk about what schools offered her scholarships — Cachey said she could have gone pretty much anywhere — Zarzecki said her decision wasn’t easy.

The allure of powerhouse University of Wisconsin was strong.

Depending on traffic, the Madison campus isn’t more than three hours from Chicago. The Badgers are perennial participants in the NCAA Tournament’s Frozen Four. With a commanding 5-1 win against Boston University on Saturday, they return to the semifinals for the eighth time in 10 years this year.

Wisconsin also owns four national titles, tied for second all time.

But all of that wasn’t enough to keep Zarzecki from joining her sister Hannah, a sophomore on the Crimson team, at Harvard.

“It wasn’t what I didn’t like about Wisconsin, it was what I liked about Harvard,” Grace Zarzecki said. “It was more of a fit for me. I liked the environment. I liked how everybody is very intense about everything they did. Not only was the school going to be challenging and a great opportunity for me, but also the hockey program offered everything I wanted.”

Harvard might not have won any national titles, yet, but it has been close. The Crimson earned its fifth Frozen Four appearance with a 5-0 victory against Quinnipiac University on Saturday.

And with one of the best youth players coming next year, it might just be getting better.

Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.