Aug. 12, 2011
Stony Brook, N.Y. - With the 2011 season drawing near, the Stony Brook women's soccer team is gearing up for another run at the America East title. After a second-place finish in the conference standings last year, head coach Sue Ryan returns 17 letterwinners and welcomes 11 newcomers to a squad that looks poised to challenge for the conference crown yet again.
"I think after a second-place finish, everyone is ready for a first-place win," senior Dana Adamkiewicz (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.) admitted. "We're ready to learn how to be champions."
No one is more ready than Adamkiewicz, a fifth-year senior that has witnessed the team advance to at least the America East semifinals in each of the last four seasons. Joined by fellow seniors Daniela Giuliani (West Lafayette, Ind.), Colleen McKenna (Manorville, N.Y.), Alexis Lindo (York, Pa.), Rachel Silverman (Rye Brook, N.Y.) and Dominique Adamo (Ramsey, N.J.), the 2011 Seawolves have plenty of been-there, done-that experience to push them over the championship hump this season.
"Our goal is to be the best team that we can be on each game day," said Ryan, who enters her 27th season with the Seawolves. "We have to prepare ourselves to play as competitive a match as possible and always put ourselves in a position to win."
The title push starts in goal, where the Seawolves will welcome back sophomore Chelsea Morales (Temecula, Calif.), an America East All-Rookie selection last year. Morales posted a 1.78 GAA and ranked fourth in the conference with 86 saves as a freshman in 2010. Morales posted three clean-sheets, all in America East play, and allowed only four total goals in the last five matches of the regular season.
Morales will be joined by three other keepers on the 2011 roster, sophomore Ashley Castanio (Oceanside, N.Y.) and freshmen Jamie Botteon (Bristol, Conn.) and Allyson Lambros (La Habra, Calif.). The foursome gives Ryan ample depth at the most important position on the field.
Just in front of the Seawolves' net, the defensive corps looks to be in good hands heading into 2011. Anchored by seniors Adamkiewicz and Lindo, the unit also returns sophomores Julianne Palm (Stilwell, Kansas), Jennifer Taylor (Ashburn, Va.), and Ahriel Fernandez (East Haven, Conn.), a trio of regular contributors in 2010. Palm started every game last season and finished with a team-best 1,633 minutes played. Taylor started 16 games, while Adamkiewicz and Fernandez saw action in 12 matches as well. Joining the mix will be freshman Victoria Lander (Massapequa, N.Y.), a standout defender at Massapequa High School who helped the Chiefs to a state championship in 2010.
A strongpoint of the 2011 Seawolves will be the midfield, which returns a balance of attacking talent and defensive meddle. Three of the team's top four scorers last season, Adamo and juniors Taryn Schoenbeck (Newark, Del.) and Sa'sha Kershaw (Baltimore, Md.) will all feature in the midfield yet again after enjoying regular playing time in 2010. Adamo led the team with six goals and 17 points, while Schoenbeck and Kershaw each produced eight points on the year.
The quartet will be joined by sophomore Caitlin Pfeiffer (Holland, N.Y.), who made eight starts and posted two assists last year. Pfeiffer will be joined in the midfield by Silverman, who brings 50 games of previous college experience to the table, and sophomore Ericka Garufi (Milton, Mass.). Freshmen Regan Bosnyak (Newington, Conn.), Christina Casamassina (Farmingville, N.Y.), Ariel Katsimpalis (Harrison Township, Mich.) and Ashley Russo (Bridgeport, Conn.) will push for time and add depth to the position as well.
Up front, the Seawolves' attack will be strengthened by the return of McKenna and sophomore Larissa Nysch (Dresher, Pa.), who combined for six goals and 13 points in 2010. Nysch slotted home the game-winner in the regular season finale vs. Binghamton to help Stony Brook clinch second place in the conference with a 2-1 win. McKenna and Nysch will be joined by Giuliani, who has seen action in 14 career matches, and also sophomore Queli Ornelas (Palm Harbor, Fla.), who played in five games a year ago.
The forwards will be bolstered by the addition of four new faces that will look to break into the starting 11 and make an immediate impact. Freshman Megan Rea (East Haven, Conn.) brings an accomplished scoring touch to the front line after scoring more than 30 goals in her high school career at East Haven. Shannon Grogan (Eastampton, N.J.) adds further pedigree to the unit following a 17-goal, 31-assist career at Holy Cross High School. Fellow newcomers Hayli LaBadie (Thornton, Colo.) and Eliza Mendoza (Fontana, Calif.) will look to add further scoring punch and give the team more versatility in attacking options.
"I think we have a good mix this year of returning players and newcomers," Ryan explained. "The trick to a good team is having some fresh faces that can come in and compete for positions and I think we have that. We have some freshmen that will come in and make an impact right away and give other players a run for their money, but I'm also happy to have most of our seniors on the field at the same time."
The Seawolves will face a challenging slate of games in 2011, including matches against three teams that advanced to the 2010 NCAA Tournament. Stony Brook opens the season on Aug. 19 at Siena, a team that won 17 games and made a tournament appearance a year ago. The Seawolves' home opener is scheduled for Aug. 22 against Iona in a matchup that will hold added significance for new Stony Brook assistant coach Eric Teepe, who managed the Gaels from 2006-10.
Stony Brook will then head back on the road for a pair of games at the James Madison Tournament on Aug. 26-28 against Delaware and the host Dukes. JMU advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2010, knocking off Texas in the first round, before falling to North Carolina. The Seawolves play the first of eight America East games on Sept. 25 at Vermont and will host UMBC (Sept. 29), New Hampshire (Oct. 9), Boston University (Oct. 13) and Albany (Oct. 23) at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium this year. Boston University has captured each of the last four conference titles and fell in the first round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament to rival Boston College.
"Basically what we're trying to do is play as competitive a schedule as we can to prepare ourselves for conference play," Ryan said. "We have some top teams on the schedule, teams that did very well last year and finished very high in the RPI."
As preseason camp winds down and gives way to the regular season, the Seawolves remain focused on one ultimate goal: winning the America East and competing for a chance at the sport's ultimate prize.
