‘The kind of player I want on my team’: Quaker Valley senior eager to play college hockey

By: Ray Fisher

Sunday, May 11, 2025 | 11:01 AM

Courtesy of Alex Yancheski

Quaker Valley senior Emily Reiner (29) competes for the girls lacrosse team on April 29, at Chuck Knox Stadium.

Emily Reiner is a senior at Quaker Valley.

Courtesy of Alex Yancheski

Quaker Valley senior Emily Reiner (29) competes for the girls lacrosse team on April 29, 2025, at Chuck Knox Stadium.

Courtesy of Alex Yancheski

Quaker Valley senior Emily Reiner (29) competes for the girls lacrosse team on April 29, 2025, at Chuck Knox Stadium.

Emily Reiner is a senior at Quaker Valley.

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Emily Reiner has engineered quite a career as a student-athlete at Quaker Valley.

And she has mapped out a unique blueprint for college.

A senior and fourth-year starting goalkeeper on QV’s girls lacrosse team, Reiner also is a standout hockey player. As such, she has committed to continuing her career on the ice at the Milwaukee School of Engineering.

“I had USA Hockey Nationals in Wisconsin last year,” said Reiner, a 6-foot-2 forward, “so I emailed the coach at the Milwaukee School of Engineering because I knew I wanted to do something in that field. She came to a game, and we talked a lot and during this hockey season.

“I got a chance to go back there and tour, and I immediately loved the campus and people surrounding the hockey team and just knew it was the place for me. This year was actually their first year in history that they had a NCAA D3 women’s ice hockey team. This was definitely a building year for them since it was their first season.”

Milwaukee School of Engineering’s women’s hockey team competes in the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association, which operates in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Baylee Marabella was hired as MSOE’s coach in November of 2023. She played at the University of Wisconsin from 2014-2018. The Badgers made the Frozen Four in three of Marabella’s four seasons with the team.

The MSOE coach was not at a loss for words when talking about Reiner.

“I am so incredibly excited that Emily chose MSOE as her home for the next four years and cannot wait to see the growth and potential that she will exhibit,” Marabella said. “Emily is the kind of teammate who brings such a positive energy to every person lucky enough to cross her path. She leads by example in her relentless work ethic and willingness to learn and absorb everything she can, consistently aiming to be the best version of herself for her team.

“It’s no question that Emily is tall, a gift of hers that she has truly grown into this past year. Especially as a forward, this quality undoubtedly sets Emily apart from most, but it’s her ability to maintain the stick skills and skating talent that often is sacrificed. Emily is the opposite of what you would expect. She beautifully combines her height with her hands and scoring knack.”

The NCHA is an NCAA Division III hockey-only conference; members are St. Norbert, Adrian, Concordia Wisconsin, Lake Forest, Aurora, Marian, Trine, Lawrence, Dubuque and the MSE Raiders.

“The NCHA is a deeply competitive conference,” Marabella said. “It’s physical, demanding and challenging. Yet it is a conference in which each game is truly an opportunity to win, no matter where you are ranked. On any given day, those rankings can change drastically.

“Being in a conference against consistently nationally ranked opponents, we are often the underdog in our competitions within this league, and that’s the best place to be. Each game is weighted with the chance to change momentum, to prove ourselves to the rest of the teams — to make our presence known, respected and continue to push our way towards the top. I have the utmost confidence in Emily and next year’s team to make a true playoff push.”

The Raiders are a North American-based group. The states of Wisconsin and Minnesota were well-represented on the 2024-25 squad. Players also came from Missouri, Michigan, Wyoming, Tennessee, Colorado, Massachusetts, Florida and Nevada, along with Ontario and Manitoba.

Reiner will be the only player from Pennsylvania on next year’s team.

“Honestly, when I first started in this role, I imagined my team would primarily consist of Midwesterners. It was incredibly exciting to discover that was not the case at all,” Marabella said. “Our team entails a variety of individuals from so many different backgrounds and places — it certainly makes for a beautiful blend of a team culture.”

Reiner, 17, started playing hockey in the RMU learn to skate program at age 4 and began her lacrosse career during her summer before eighth grade, playing for SV Lax. She competed for the SHAHA Panthers in ninth and 10th grade and the Pittsburgh Steel City Selects in 11th and 12th grade.

“I also played lacrosse for PPLC in the summer of 2023,” Reiner said.

Reiner experienced an immediate attraction to the sport of hockey.

“I went to one of my cousin’s hockey games who played for Moon High School, and I loved it,” she said. “I begged my parents to let me play hockey; they signed me up for lessons at RMU and I’ve been doing it ever since.”

As a sixth grader, Reiner was one of 100 female 2007 birth-year players from around the world invited to take part in the Future Legends Hockey Hall of Fame Tournament in Toronto.

Reiner skated for the Pens Elite and Arctic Foxes 12U girls teams.

Reiner noted that her parents have been the biggest influence in her athletic career.

“Definitely my parents, by far,” she said. “Even though neither of them played ice hockey, they are the ones that have sacrificed and dedicated their time and money to me so I could even have the opportunity to play hockey now and in college. They have been my biggest supporters, and I will forever be grateful for that.”

Reiner is a leading skater in the PIHL girls division as a member of the West team.

“I did get the chance to see Emily play in person a few times,” Marabella said, “one of them distinctly in my mind because I remember she was terribly sick that weekend and somehow still managed to demand such a presence on the ice. I recall thinking, ‘This is the kind of player I want on my team.’

“She gave 110% effort despite not feeling her best, and it was a testament to not only her resilience as an athlete, but a reminder of her ‘team-first’ mentality.”

Continuing her hockey career while pursuing her long-range goals are two of the things that excite the long-limbed Reiner, an imposing player to opponents.

“It would be really cool to play in the PWHL,” she said, “but I want to really pursue the field of mechanical engineering and try to have a positive impact on the world through my field of work.

“I like keeping updated on the USA hockey girls and PWHL.”

One of Reiner’s early coaches on the PIHL West squad was Jeff Tindall, who was highly complimentary of the QV student-athlete.

“What a great kid and great hockey player,” he said. “She is taller than most of the girls, so she has a longer reach and definitely knows how to use her size. She’s an absolute joy to coach and a great teammate.”

Reiner has been playing hockey for two years with Steel City Selects. Her favorite on-ice memory with SCS was scoring the game-winner in overtime at last year’s MidAm finals to send her team to nationals.

“It was incredible,” Reiner said following the game. “It was such a big accomplishment beating our hometown rival, the South Pittsburgh Rebellion, 2-1, to win the championship.”

An outstanding student and hockey player, Reiner also is an accomplished goalkeeper in lacrosse. She racked up her 500th career save March 31 in the Quakers’ second game of the season against Mars.

“It was an incredible feeling,” Reiner said. “I knew I was very close last year, so it felt amazing to finally get it. It was really cool because my coach called a timeout when I got my 500th save and my whole team came running and cheering towards me to congratulate me.

“If someone would have told me I would have gotten 500 career saves when I was playing my first game as a freshman, I would have never believed them. It really all falls back on the people around me that push me every day on and off the field, without them I would have never had enough support to reach that milestone.”

Through May 5, Reiner had 104 saves this season, upping her career total to 574.

In the classroom, she has a 4.14 GPA, is a National Honor Society member and is a distinguished honor roll student at Quaker Valley.

“Emily is an extremely dedicated student,” Marabella said. “She exhibits the balance and time management needed to succeed at a school like MSOE and has a solid foundation in her family to support that.

“My expectation for her is to make an immediate impact on this team. I think, both academically and athletically, she is extremely prepared for the transition into the college atmosphere. I expect her to continue to excel in the classroom, as she has proven through her high school years, and be an integral part of our forward group and team-first culture.”

Reiner has been involved in the ACE Engineering Program and QV Creekers Environmental Club and has helped out a volunteer for Ohio River Sweep.

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