Erika Lyn Lawler (born February 5, 1987) is a retired

Women's Ice Hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Two opposing teams use ice h ...

player. She was notably a member of the 2009–10 United States national women's ice hockey team which participated in the

2010 Olympic Winter Games The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Vancouver 2010 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held from February 12 to 28, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with ...

and a member of the

CWHL The Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL; ) was a women's ice hockey league. Established in 2007 as a Canadian women's senior league in the Greater Toronto Area, Montreal, and Ottawa, the league expanded into Alberta (2011) and internationally i ...

's Boston Blades (2011-2013) and the NWHL's

Metropolitan Riveters The Metropolitan Riveters (originally the New York Riveters) were a professional women's ice hockey team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, with home games at the American Dream Meadowlands ice rink. They were one of the four charter franc ...

(2017-2019). Lawler also played prep hockey at

Cushing Academy Cushing Academy is a private, coeducational college-preparatory school for boarding and day students in Ashburnham, Massachusetts, United States. It serves approximately 400 students in grades 9–12 and a postgraduate year. History Cushing ...

where she won the

Bette Davis Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress of film, television, and theater. Regarded as one of the greatest actresses in Hollywood history, she was noted for her willingness to play unsympatheti ...

Award as the top athlete in her class three times. She then played collegiately for the

Wisconsin Badgers The Wisconsin Badgers are the College athletics in the United States, athletic teams representing the University of Wisconsin–Madison. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I ...

of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association and won three NCAA titles (2006, 2007 and 2009).

Playing career

Wisconsin Badgers

Over the course of her career as a Wisconsin Badger, Erika Lawler received many accolades and awards. With her team, she won three NCAA titles in four seasons (2006, 2007, and 2009). She played in 163 games for the Wisconsin Badgers, which was the most in school history. She also ranks 2nd for most career assists with 119, 7th for all-time Career goals with 55, and 3rd all time in points with 174.

2005-2006

In her first year as a Badger, Erika Lawler helped her team win the NCAA National Tournament. She played all 41 games that season, and finished sixth in scoring on the team with 13 goals, 19 assists, and 32 points.

2006-2007

In her sophomore year, Lawler helped her team win their second consecutive NCAA title. She again played in all 41 games that season, and led the team with 28 assists.

2007-2008

In her junior year, Lawler led her team in assists with 28 for the second consecutive year. Though Lawler and the Badgers did not win the NCAA title in 2008, they still made it to the Championship game, where they lost 4–0 to Minnesota-Duluth.

2008-2009

In her senior year, Erika Lawler was named captain of the Wisconsin Badgers. She led the team to the NCAA Championship, where she won her third and final title. She led the entire NCAA in assists scoring with 44 assists. She was a Top-10 finalist for the

Patty Kazmaier Patty Kazmaier-Sandt (January 8, 1962February 15, 1990) was a four-year varsity letter-winner for the Princeton University women's ice hockey team from 1981 through 1986. The Patty Kazmaier Award is named in her memory. Playing career Kazmaier wa ...

Memorial Award.

USA Hockey

Three-time member of the United States Women's National Team for the International Ice Hockey Federation World Women's Championship (gold-2008-09, silver- 2007) … Four-time member of the United States Women's Select Team for the Four Nations Cup (1st-2008, 2nd-2006-07, 2009) … Member of the United States Women's National Team in 2009– 10 (Qwest Tour) … Three-time member of the United States Women's Under-22 Select Team for the Under-22 Series with Canada (2006–08). Cocaptained the team in 2008 … Four-time USA Hockey Women's National Festival participant (2006–09) … Four-time USA Hockey Player Development Camp attendee (2002–05).

2010 Olympic team

Received Silver Medal in the XXI 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Erika and the USA Women's Hockey Team lost 2–0 against Canada on February 25, 2010.

Awards and honors

;USA Hockey: Three-time member of the U.S. Women's National Team for the International Ice Hockey Federation World Women's Championship (gold-2008-09, silver-2007) ... Three-time member of the U.S. Women's Select Team for the Four Nations Cup (1st-2008, 2nd-2006-07) ... Three-time member of the U.S. Women's Under-22 Select Team for the Under-22 Series with Canada (2006–08). Co-captained the team in 2008 ... Four-time USA Hockey Women's National Festival participant (2006–09) ... Four-time USA Hockey Player Development Camp attendee (2002–05). ;College: Played four seasons at the University of Wisconsin of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, where she was part of three national championship teams ... Her 174 career points (55–119) rank third in school history. As a Senior (2008–09): Captained the Badgers to the 2009 NCAA National Championship ... Led the NCAA with 44 assists ... Earned All-WCHA Second Team honors ... Top-10 finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award. As a Junior (2007–08): Helped the Badgers to the NCAA title game ... Led the team with 28 assists and ranked third with 40 points ... All-WCHA Second Team honoree. As a Sophomore (2006–07): Helped lead the team to the NCAA National Championship for the second consecutive year ... All-WCHA Third Team selection. As a Freshman (2005–06): Helped the Badgers win the NCAA title. * 2008 Badger Award * Led the NCAA with 44 assists in 2009

Personal life

Lawler is an ally and champion for

LGBTQ+ rights LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The group i ...

. In 2023, she signed an open letter opposing transgender sports bans in America, joining star athletes like

Megan Rapinoe Megan Anna Rapinoe (; born July 5, 1985) is an American former professional Association football, soccer player who played as a Midfielder#Winger, winger. She spent most of her career playing for Seattle Reign FC, OL Reign of the National Wom ...

Sue Bird Suzanne Brigit Bird (born October 16, 1980) is an American former professional basketball player who played her entire career with the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Bird was drafted first overall pick by t ...

, and longtime teammate

Meghan Duggan Meghan Duggan (born September 3, 1987) is an American former ice hockey forward and director of player development for the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League. She played for the United States at the 2010 Winter Olympics and 2014 Wi ...

References

External links

On The Ellen DeGeneres Show
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawler, Erika 1987 births American women's ice hockey forwards Ice hockey players from Massachusetts Ice hockey players at the 2010 Winter Olympics Living people Medalists at the 2010 Winter Olympics Olympic silver medalists for the United States in ice hockey Sportspeople from Fitchburg, Massachusetts Ice hockey people from Worcester County, Massachusetts Wisconsin Badgers women's ice hockey players 21st-century American sportswomen