STONY BROOK, N.Y. – The Stony Brook women's soccer program and head coach
Brendan Faherty have announced the addition of 13 newcomers for the 2017-18 academic year. Kimmy Chavkin, Chelsie DePonte, Rachel Florenz, Alyssa Francese, Hannah Geller, Michaela Goglia, Fanny Gotesson, Alicyn Lose, Sofia Manner, Seena Panagiotidis, Kiersten Reszkowski, Chase Rome and Anna Slang will join the Seawolves for the 2017 season.
"We are very excited to welcome these 13 young women into the Stony Brook women's soccer program," said Faherty. "They display all the traits that are important to our staff when recruiting potential players: high character, passionate about soccer, they want the ball, and a willingness to compete.
"This is a special time in the lives of each of these student-athletes and we are excited to celebrate it with them. But, what we like most about this group, is we believe this is just the starting point in their Stony Brook careers. They each have a desire to achieve more memorable days with this program and school in the future."
Kimmy Chavkin hails from Franklin Park, New Jersey and was a four-year letterwinner at Franklin High School. A two-year captain, Chavkin was an all-conference honoree as a junior and senior. In her final season she helped lead her team with 10 goals and eight assists. The midfielder played club for PDA Blues, along with her future classmate Kiersten Reszkowski, captaining the team in each of the past three years. She helped her team to a second-place finish in the 2016 NEWSS Tournament, and added two goals in the team's semifinal finish at the NPL Regional in 2016.
Chelsie DePonte will join the Seawolves all the way from Honolulu, Hawaii. The midfielder is in the midst of her final season at St. Andrew's Priory and was named team captain for the second straight season. DePonte was named to the ILH All-Stars second teams as a sophomore and junior, helping her team to a state quarterfinals appearance in 2016. She has played club for the Leahi Soccer Club that claimed the Region IV championship at the 2015 President Cup Nationals. She also helped her club team to a quarterfinals appearance at the US Youth Soccer Region IV Championships in 2016.
Rachel Florenz, a native of East Islip, New York, will join the Seawolves after winning four letters at East Islip High School. The two-time all-league, all-conference and all-county honoree tallied 21 goals and nine assists as a junior as the squad finished third in the league. A senior captain, Florenz helped her team finish second in the league as a senior, while totaling 16 goals and five assists in her final season. The forward has played club that last six years for Brentwood Freedom 98, helping the squad to top finishes at the CASL Tournament over the last two years.
Alyssa Francese is another New York native, hailing from Yorktown Heights. She earned four letters at Yorktown Heights High School, serving as team captain in her final two seasons. She sits as the school's all-time leader with 96 career goals, helping her team to a section semifinal appearance as a senior with 37 goals and 10 assists on the year. A three-time all-league and all-state selection, Francese earned first team all-state honors as a senior, also being awarded the NSCAA Senior Excellence Award in 2016. Francese has played the last six seasons for the New York Soccer Club. She scored seven goals in the 2016 NEWSS tournament as the team made it to the finals.
Hannah Geller joins the Seawolves after winning four letters at Monroe-Woodbury High School. The Monroe, N.Y., native helped her team to four straight Section IX top finishes, and a state semifinals appearance as a junior. Geller totaled 29 goals through her four-year career. She spent the last seven years playing club for Quickstrike FC. The squad finished first at the CASL Tournament in 2016, as Geller scored three of the team's six goals though the tournament.
Michaela Goglia hails from Bristol, Rhode Island, and won four letters at Mt. Hope High School. She earned first team all-state and all-division as a junior and senior, helping her team to three straight league semifinals. The forward finished as just the third female in school history to tally 100-plus points in her career. Goglia has played club the last four years for NEFC, helping the team to an NEP Tournament national championship and a second-place finish at the NPL national tournament in 2016.
Fanny Gotesson will join the Seawolves from Varnami, Sweden, after spending the last five years playing for IFK Varnamo. The forward was named the team's Player of the Year in 2015 and led the team in scoring in 2016. Gotesson helped her team claim the U17 District Tournament in 2014, and finish third in the Hyundai Cup. She finished second in her league in 2016 with 16 goals on the season.
Alicyn Lose, a native of Forest Hill, Maryland has won four letters at Fallston High School, captaining the team as a senior. She helped her team to three straight regional top finishes and a state championship as a junior, scoring the game-winner in the final. Lose finished her career with 29 career goals and 33 assists. She has spent the last five years playing club for Penn Fusion ECNL.
Sofia Manner is the second of three international student-athletes to join the Seawolves next season, hailing from Helsinki, Finland. The lone goalkeeper of the class, Manner has spent the last eight years playing for HJK, while also spending time on Finland's national team. She played internationally for Finland at the U16, U17 and U18 levels. Manner also helped her ISF team to a second-place finish in the Futsal World Championships.
Seena Panagiotidis will join the Seawolves after winning four letters at St. Luke's School. The Norwalk, Connecticut, native was a two-time FAA All-Conference honoree as she helped her team to the WNEPSSA finals as a junior and semifinals as a senior. She finished her career scoring 38 goals and adding 30 assists. She played for the Connecticut Football Club for five years and helped the team to the 2015 Northeast NPL semifinals.
Kiersten Reszkowski hails from Freehold, New Jersey, joining the Seawolves after winning four letters at Freehold Township. She helped her team to an A-North league championship as a senior captain, finishing second in the region. The defender finished her career with six goals and 13 assists. Reszkowski played club for the PDA Blues along with Kimmy Chavkin. The pair helped the team that finished first at the NPL Showcase in 2015 and second at the PDA Showcase in 2016.
Chase Rome, a native of Mulino, Oregon, won three letters are Molalla High School. She was a three-time first team all-league honoree, helping her team to a fourth-place league finish as a senior. The midfielder has spent the last six seasons playing club for Crossfire United ENCL. Rome also ran for the Molalla cross country team as a senior.
Anna Slang will join the Seawolves from Cowichan Bay, British Columbia. She has spent the last six years playing for the Vancouver Island Wave, as well as playing for Team British Columbia for the last four years. She helped her team to gold medal finishes at the Canada Challenge Showcase and the Western Canada Summer Games. Slang was named Western Canada All-Star in 2015 and helped her Wave team to a gold medal finish at the 2016 Phoenix Desert Cup. A four-year member of her Frances Kelsey Secondary School team, Slang is entering her final season.