Newburgh, N.Y. – In a rematch of the 2015 Skyline Conference Championship Final, the top seeded Mount Saint Mary College Women's Soccer team will play host to fourth seeded St. Joseph's-L.I. on Wednesday in a 2017 Skyline Conference Championship Semifinal. Kick-off is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. at Kaplan Field with Live Stats available for those who cannot attend the contest.
At A Glance: The Knights went through the Skyline Conference schedule unblemished in nine outings and enter Wednesday's contest at 15-3-1 and winners 12 of their final 13 regular season contests. The Knights finished the regular season with a tough 2-1 home win over Farmingdale State to clinch the top seed in the conference championship.
The Mount is outscoring opponents 87-15 entering Wednesday's tilt and surrendered only three goals to conference opponents over the course of the regular season. The Knights feature a trio of players with at least 10 goals on the season and 10 different players with as many as 10 points heading into Wednesday's semifinal.
A trio of seniors lead the Mount Saint Mary scoring attack in
Destiny Ribadeneyra (Maybrook, N.Y.),
Bridget McKeever (Wallkill, N.Y.) and
Allison Jones (Merrick, N.Y.). Ribadeneyra leads the team in goals (20), assists (14) and points (54) and is followed by McKeever who has scored 16 times, assisted on 11 goals and totaled 43 points. Jones enters Wednesday's contest with 25 points for the Knights on the strength of 10 goals and five helpers.
Freshman
Haley Murphy (Massapequa, N.Y.), the Skyline Conference Rookie of the Week on October 16, has scored six times for the Mount with
Mary Riley (Newburgh, N.Y.),
Jessica Lanning (Hicksville, N.Y.),
Alexa Franceschi (Red Hook, N.Y.) and
Nicole Cavallo (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) all entering the conference championship with five markers. Cavallo recorded the game winning goal in the Knights' last outing against Farmingdale State.
The Knights lead the conference in scoring average, opponent scoring average and scoring margin as a team with Ribadeneyra leading the league in assists and ranking second in the conference in both goals and points.
In goal, Riley has put together a strong senior season that includes 61 saves, a 0.98 goals against average, an .803 save percentage and six shutouts. To date, she leads the conference in goals against average and save percentage and is tied for the league lead in shutouts.
Last Time Out: The Mount secured the top seed in the Skyline Conference Championship with a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Farmingdale State on October 25. After allowing an early goal to the Rams, Ribadeneyra tied the score on a free-kick early in the second half and Cavallo canned the eventual game winner just under 10 minutes later off a corner kick. Riley picked up the win in goal with a pair of saves for the Knights.
Scouting St. Joseph's: The Golden Eagles come to town with an 11-7 overall record and are coming off a 1-0 First Round win over Purchase. St. Joseph's has won its last three outings and has allowed just one goal in its last four contests.
The Golden Eagles have three players with at least nine goals on the season, led by 19 from Christina Gagliardi who paces the team with 43 points. Kristin Carroll enters Wednesday's tilt with nine goals and 22 points, with Carly Credidio registering nine goals and 21 points. Mackenzie Nyitray leads the way with six assists, adding seven goals for 20 points.
In net, Juliana Cintron-Leonardo has played 1178:10 of a possible 1627:35 and holds a 1.45 goals against average and a .782 save percentage. She has stopped 68 opponent shots and has registered four shutouts on the season.
Regular Season Matchup: The Knights scored a 2-0 win on October 7 in Newburgh, outshooting the Golden Eagles 17-5. Ribadeneyra scored both goals for the Mount, her 10
th and 11
th of the season, tallying the eventual game winning goal in the 29
th minute. She added an insurance marker early in the second half to close out the scoring. Riley made three saves in goal for the shutout victory.
Championship History: The Knights will appear in the Skyline Conference Championship for the 11th straight season and are in search of their eighth straight trip to the Skyline Conference Championship Final.
Since 2007, the Knights and Golden Eagles have met six times in the conference championship with each team winning three times. The last meeting came in the 2015 final with St. Joseph's getting a pair of Chelsea Bellini goals to score a 2-1 win over the Knights in Newburgh.
What's At Stake: The winner of Wednesday's game will take on the winner of the College of Mount Saint Vincent and Farmingdale State semifinal for a berth into the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, November 4.
