Jade Arnone, a prominent freshman defender for the Harvard women’s hockey team this past season, has entered the transfer portal, and Lee-J Mirasolo, the Crimson’s associate head coach, has taken a leave of absence, The Athletic has learned.
Arnone, 18, was a top four defender for the Crimson this season, had the second most points for a defender and appeared in 30 games. She declined to comment when reached by phone Thursday evening.
Arnone is the 10th player to exit the program with eligibility remaining in the last two years. But the majority of those remained at Harvard as students. Arnone is the second standout Harvard freshman to enter the transfer portal in as many years. Taze Thompson, the Ivy League rookie of the year, transferred to Northeastern last year. Thompson won a Hockey East championship this past season and went to the NCAA Frozen Four with the Huskies.
Mirasolo, an assistant who has been with the program since 2015, recently informed the team of her decision to take a leave of absence via email. It is unclear how long she will be on leave; Mirasolo did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Mirasolo, a former Boston College player, joined the program following four seasons as an assistant coach at Princeton. Prior to that, she coached at both UMass…
