Farmington goaltender Makena Underwood just wrapped up her senior season of varsity hockey and is leaving behind an incredibly impactful legacy in the Tigers program. The now 18-year-old athlete wore a ‘C’ as both a junior and a senior while at Farmington and made back-to-back state tournament appearances with the Tigers. She went on become a Jori Jones finalist in 2026 as one of the top five senior goaltenders in the state of Minnesota and she has a future in Division I hockey as well.

Underwood and her fellow teammates and captains often talked about leaving the high school program and the youth organization in a better place than where they found it. The program was already in a good place when they started competing with the Tigers but they wanted to ensure that their legacy is all about inspiring future generations of Farmington players in the years to come and it’s safe to say that Underwood and her teammates have absolutely done just that.

The senior netminder started out as a young hockey player herself within the Farmington Hockey Association. Underwood’s father played hockey when he was younger but her two older brothers weren’t really into the sport so it wasn’t until she attended a Minnesota Wild game one day that she was inspired to give the sport a try. She started out as just a regular skater out on the ice but was always curious about becoming a goaltender.

“I actually started out as a player, and I wasn’t the best,” joked Underwood about her early beginnings in hockey. She went on to talk about how she was always interested in becoming a part of the goalie rotation that takes place in youth hockey, where anyone can try out the position while using gear that the association provides, but that her dad - like many other hockey parents - was trying to steer her away from trying on the pads (in a lighthearted way, of course). One weekend when her father was out of town, Underwood brought home the association’s goalie gear and tried it on and of course it wound up being her new favorite thing and she’s been in net ever since.

The Farmington native played in the youth association up through middle school but in eighth grade she wound up trying out for the varsity high school team and ended up making the roster as just a 13-year-old. Although she didn’t actual register any varsity action that year, she was the lone goaltender on JV which ended up providing her a great opportunity to get plenty of ice time and it was a way to slowly acclimate to the pace of play that high school hockey provides.

As a freshman, Underwood also mostly competed as the JV starter but she got her first official varsity start during a game against Prior Lake and joked in a phone call interview with APX reporter Sydney Wolf that the match went less than stellar but that it was obviously a learning experience that she could build on for the future. She eventually became a varsity starter as a sophomore, where she rotated time in net with Addison Moudry, who was one grade older.

Moudry and Underwood were a talented pair of netminders together in both 2023-24 and 2024-25. The duo provided two very solid options in goal for the Tigers and Underwood said that it was great to have a goalie partner and mentor like Moudry who helped push her to become the best that she could be.

“She’s honestly one of the hardest-working people I’ve ever seen, she just works her absolute butt off. It was great being mentored by her,” Underwood said about the experience of having Moudry as a goalie partner.

The Farmington native learned a lot in her sophomore season and ended up posting a .911 save percentage and a 2.43 goals-against average for a Tigers team that went 17-9-1 overall. She really started to shine out on the ice in the starts that she earned that year but she said that it was a little tough to get into a consistent mindset while only playing in about half of the games that season.

Moudry and Underwood switched off in net again during Underwood’s junior season. She posted an .896 save percentage and a 2.90 goals-against average that year and had a little bit of a self-described ‘slump’ just due to the pressure that she putting on herself at the time. She had a goal of playing college hockey and felt a lot of pressure to perform big in the limited varsity minutes that she was seeing to try and get the most exposure possible. She battled through it though and ended up being a part of a Farmington team that wound up making it to state that season.

“The past couple of years we were out in the first round or second round [of section playoffs] and just never made it to that final game and then making it all the way there and winning and going to state was just an absolute joy,” Underwood said about the experience of winning the section final and being able to go to the Class AA state tournament with her team in 2025. Moudry, a senior at the time, got the start in net for the section championship game and for Farmington’s state quarterfinal match against Edina but Underwood was able to play in the consolation semifinal game against Moorhead in the very last game of the season for the Tigers.

Throughout her junior year, Underwood had been reaching out to college hockey programs to try and find somewhere that would be a good spot for her to possibly achieve her dream. She had originally been chatting with a few big name Division I programs in the summer after her sophomore season but those talks ended up fizzling out, so she had to take things into her own hands during her junior season. It was a challenge mentally to deal with the ups and downs of the recruiting process and it was hard to stay focused and not lose hope on her ultimate goal but Underwood stayed proactive and decided to reach out to Division I programs herself along with a handful of top Division III teams, too.

One of the schools that she reached out to was Saint Michael’s College, located in Colchester, Vermont. The two parties connected and had many conversations over a time span of a few months and eventually Underwood was invited out to visit the campus of the Division I women’s hockey program and absolutely loved it.

“Everybody talks about that feeling that you get [when you find the right place and the right fit] and that’s what I had, I knew that it was the place for me,” said the Farmington goaltender about her visit out to Saint Michael’s. “I didn’t really care about where I would end up between staying close to home in Minnesota or going out east, but I did know that I wanted to go to a smaller school. I want to be able to have a conversation with my professor if I don’t understand something versus just walking in and being another number in the classroom - I really wanted a smaller class size and I thought that would really help me succeed.”

After visiting the campus, meeting the team there, and having plenty of conversations with the coaching staff, Underwood officially announced her commitment to play Division I hockey for the Purple Knights in April of 2025 - a couple of months after the conclusion of her junior season of high school hockey for the Tigers.

“I am beyond grateful and excited to announce my commitment to play Division I hockey and further my education at St. Michael’s College in Vermont! I am so blessed to have this opportunity and I want to thank all of my family, coaches, friends, and mentors, and most importantly God. Thank you to all who have helped me along this process. Go Purple Knights!!” Underwood posted to her social media pages.

Earning a commitment to play college hockey is obviously a huge accomplishment for anyone in the sport so that gave Underwood a for sure confidence boost and the ability to play the game with much less stress and anxiety since she didn’t have to worry so much about the recruiting process and getting as much exposure as possible during the high school season.

Senior year brought lots of changes, considering that Underwood was now committed to Saint Michael’s and also because she became the lone starter for the Tigers now since her goalie partner Addison Moudry had graduated and moved on to play Division III hockey at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

“It was a lot easier playing with no outside pressure besides the game itself and it was just really freeing to be able to have that confidence in where I am and where my future will be,” she said about how she felt during her senior season. “It was great, I was just able to play free and that’s what we wanted.”

Underwood still had a goalie partner in 2025-26 though, this time it was just that she was the older player now instead of the younger one. She was able to work alongside sophomore Addie Burggraaff and the two were able to push each other to be the best that they can be throughout the season.

Farmington was a very talented team in 2025-26. The squad was primed to be a contender at the Minnesota state tournament but obviously the Tigers had to get through sections first, which included getting through a battle-tested Northfield squad. Underwood joked that the team might have been more nervous for their section final against the Raiders this past season that they were for the state tournament.

“We knew it was do or die,” Underwood said about their tough section final match against Northfield, which they ended up winning by a narrow score of 3-2. “We were just focusing on our bubble and staying in the locker room and not worrying about anything else that’s going on outside the rink and that really helped us. Obviously, we got off to a slow start and we picked it back up but we just said ‘we know we can do this and if we play our best then we’re going to win’ and it was kind of just a trust the process game for us and we all had to trust each other.”

The Tigers had earned back-to-back berths to the Class AA state tournament and this time Underwood was the lone starter in net. Farmington had a tough quarterfinal match-up against Centennial/Spring Lake Park but the team gave it their all and would unfortunately fall in a high-flying 7-5 loss at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul. Despite the loss, the team stayed focused and went on to win the Class AA consolation championship after earning a win against Andover and an overtime victory against Bemidji.

“We set goals in the beginning of the year and our goal was to win the South Suburban conference, and we ended up getting that goal, and that was the first time that girls hockey has won the South Suburban conference for Farmington - so that was really big for us. Our second goal was obviously to make it to state and then our third goal was to be one of the last teams to win their last game, so we wanted to make it to either the state championship, the third-place game, or consolation championship,” said Underwood about the goals for the Tigers team in 2025-26. “That was a really important goal for us and we knew that even if we weren’t going to win that first game [at state] that we can still have a chance at winning the consolation title and I think going from 0-2 at state last year and scoring just one goal to scoring 12 goals and going 2-1 was just amazing and I honestly couldn’t ask for more for a senior year.”

Underwood was more than a talented goaltender for the Tigers during her time on varsity as she was able to be a captain of the team as well in both her junior and senior seasons. The senior and her teammates were passionate about leaving the program in a better place than they found it, even though it was already in a good place when they started there, and it seems like they have done just that. With back-to-back state tournament appearances for the girls program at Farmington, the future looks bright for the Tigers and the future looks just as bright for Underwood who ended the year as a finalist for the Jori Jones Senior Goaltender of the Year Award as well with an overall .918 save percentage, a 1.86 goals-against average and five shutouts in 2025-26.

“I have known Kena for her entire high school career and even before in middle school and elementary school as I have been fortunate enough to work with her youth teams in our community as she has grown. She understands that paths have been paved before she made it to where she is and that it is her job to continue to open doors for those behind her so they may have even greater success,” said Farmington head coach Jon Holmes to Let’s Play Hockey in their media release to announce the Jori Jones award finalists.

“Kena is the epitome of what coaches and community builders want from the youth. Her character combined with her skill makes her and everyone around her a better player and human,” he added. “Kena is always a role model for all students, athletes, and community members. She is well known for her honesty, integrity, and compassionate attitude and she truly has the mentality to show up and do the work no matter the situation or circumstance. Whether it is daily practices, weights, film, team meetings, helping with youth practices, having an active role in practice planning and preparing for games or just being available for when someone needs an ear or advice, Kena is a genuine leader. Kena has one of the greatest work ethics I have seen in a hockey player as she is inquisitive and will try anything you ask of her to help the team. She has a special rapport with people due to her inherent nature where she treats everyone with the respect and enthusiasm she demands from herself.”

With her senior season now complete, Underwood is focused on getting ready to go out east to join Saint Michael’s College this fall. She has already met the three goalies that play there and will have a familiar face on campus with Holy Family high school’s Taryn Richter also committed to play for the Purple Knights next season and the two will likely room together as well.

“I’m super excited to go out there and I’m just going to give it my all and we’ll see what happens,” Underwood said about her future in Vermont. “I’m just really excited to be a part of the culture there and to hopefully leave a legacy there.”

The Minnesota native is currently thinking about studying either biology or health science when she gets out to college to pursue a pre-physician assistant path. Saint Michael’s will be a great place to develop as a goaltender over the next few seasons despite the team’s current losing record and the school has already had a few Minnesotans find success on campus there in the past - including current senior goaltender Annika Lavender (Wayzata) who has broken countless school and New England Women’s Hockey Alliance records.

In her free time away from hockey, Underwood doesn’t currently play any other sports for her school but she has been very involved in mission trips in the past and has gone to Africa once and Ecuador twice where she has found a passion in helping others. She also loves to be involved in the local Farmington hockey organization and helping out young athletes and young goalies and getting them excited to be a part of the varsity program in the future. It’s all about leaving a positive impact and a positive legacy and Underwood will certainly be remembered in an extremely positive light in the years to come.

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