Newburgh, N.Y. - Coming off a 2015 Skyline Conference regular season championship, the Mount Saint Mary College Softball team is in search of the conference championship tournament crown and berth in the NCAA Tournament in 2016. The Knights, under the direction of head coach Jessica Mushel, posted a 19-11 overall record last season and a 12-2 mark against conference rivals. The season opens Tuesday against Western Connecticut at the Danbury Sports Dome at 4:15 p.m.

At A Glance: Mount Saint Mary returns five All-Conference selections from last season's team and brings back 15 letter winners from the 2015 season. In addition, Mushel was named the 2015 Skyline Conference Coach of the Year as the Knights earned the top seed in the conference tournament.

Pitcher
Mount Saint Mary returns a strong pitching staff in 2016 that includes 2015 Skyline Pitcher of the Year and First Team All-Conference selection Cindy Connoly (Walden, N.Y.). Connoly was named the Skyline Conference Pitcher of the Week once as a freshman and the league's Rookie of the Week on four occasions in 2015. She finished off her first collegiate season 10-6 with a 1.57 earned run average, posting 112 strikeouts in 102.2 innings pitched. She also hit .397 at the plate, slugging .618 and driving in 20 runs.

Senior Victoria Goldbach (Middle Village, N.Y.) returns for her senior season after being limited by injury to six appearances and 29.0 innings pitched in 2015. Mushel says Goldbach has come back stronger and is poised for a big senior season after going 4-1 with a 2.90 earned run average a season ago.

Mount Saint Mary will also utilize sophomore Colleen Dunn (Bellmore, N.Y.) and senior Nicole Lomangino (Wantagh, N.Y.) in the circle in 2016. Dunn was limited due to injury in 2015, but posted a 4-0 record in eight appearances covering 37.0 innings. Lomangino recorded a 1-1 record as a junior in three appearances.

Catcher
Mushel will rely on a pair of catchers in 2016, led by senior Chelsea Dexter (Beacon, N.Y.) who will begin her second season with the program on Tuesday. Dexter hit .385 in a utility roll in her first season with the Knights, driving in 11 runs in 19 games played. Dexter was a First Team All-League pick for the Knights in 2015.

Sophomore Kathryn Eiler (Merrick, N.Y.) will also see time behind the plate in 2016 after posting a .357 batting average in 11 games played as a freshman. Eiler drove in three runs in 2015 and posted a .429 slugging percentage in 14 at-bats.

Outfield
The Knights return a talented group of outfielders in 2016, led by senior Co-Captain Sabrina Gordek (Levittown, N.Y.). The team's vocal leader and mentor to the entire roster was the only player to start each of the team's 30 games last year. She scored 10 runs for the Knights and drew seven walks for the Knights. She hit .200 overall on the season in 65 at-bats.

Also returning for the Mount is Taylor Canto (Walden, N.Y.). She will primarily play right field for the Knights and is coming off a 2015 season that saw her start 29 games as a freshman. She hit .259 for the Knights, scoring 18 runs and driving in nine.

Mount Saint Mary welcomes back Brianne Germain (Greenwood Lake, N.Y.) and Alyssa Castellani (New Hartford, Conn.) who also have outfield experience. Germain appeared in 20 games in 2015 and Castellani saw time in eight contests as a freshman.

Mushel and the Knights will also look for immediate contributions from a pair of newcomers in Amanda Almodovar (Chester, N.Y.) and Nicolette Moustouka (Seaford, N.Y.).

Infield
The Knights bring back and talented corp. of infielders that feature three All-Conference selections from last season. The group is led by First Team All-Skyline pick Michelle Surdan (Acton, Mass.) who will be an anchor the middle of the Mount's lineup in 2016. Surdan hit .377 in 2015, leading the team in RBI with 25 and matching the team-high in home runs with four. She scored 21 runs for the Knights and slugged .610 in 77 at-bats.

Also returning for the Mount is senior Co-Captain Kate Zubicki. A positive influence on the younger players on the roster, Zubicki appeared in nine games as a junior, driving in three runs for the Knights.

Junior Shannon Sommer (Brewster, N.Y.) and sophomore Courtney Barbara (Fishkill, N.Y.) each come back in 2016 coming off of strong 2015 campaigns that earned them each All-Skyline conference honors. Sommer, A Second Team All-League pick, brings speed to the top of the Mount Saint Mary lineup and her range helpers anchor the middle infield at second base. Sommer hit .379 with a .413 on-base percentage in 2015, scoring 19 runs.

Barbara, A First Team All-Skyline selection, had a stellar rookie season in 2015, appearing in 27 games and leading the Knights with a .403 batting average in 67 at-bats. She posted a .452 on-base percentage, drove in 13 runs and scored 12 times for the Mount in 2015.

Junior Breanna DePasquale (Brooklyn, N.Y.) is back for the Knights and her versatility will allow her to shift from shortstop to third base in 2016. She started 27 games for the Mount as a sophomore, hitting .281 with three home runs and 18 RBI. DePasquale scored 16 runs for the Knights and rounded out the 2015 season with a .500 slugging percentage.

Mushel looks for newcomer Amanda Reina (Staten Island, N.Y.), who has been a sponge with information from the veteran leaders, to compete for time on the infield in her rookie season.

The Schedule
Mushel has put together a challenging non-conference slate for the Knights in 2016 that opens with a single game against Western Connecticut on Tuesday. After a conference weekend, the Knights will travel to Ft. Myers, Fla. to play six games in the Gene Cusic Classic.

"We've put together a strong non-conference schedule, with games against the likes of Manhattanville and Ramapo that will prepare of us for the Skyline season," said Mushel.

The Mount will open Skyline Conference play March 19 on campus with a set against Old Westbury. First pitch is set for 12:00 p.m.

Follow the Knights on Twitter@MSMCKnights and on Flickr