Newburgh, N.Y. – The Mount Saint Mary College Women's Soccer team will open the 2017 season on Saturday afternoon against #25 Rowan in its first of two games at the Johns Hopkins Tournament. The Knights will close out the event against Wisconsin-Stout on Sunday with Live Stats and Video available for both contests for those who cannot attend.
 
At A Glance: Mount Saint Mary is coming off a 9-9 overall record in 2016 and its seventh straight appearance in the Skyline Conference Championship Final after earning the second seed in the conference championship. The Mount returns 15 players from last season's squad, including seven of its top eight point producers.
 
Forward: 2016 First Team All-Skyline Conference selection Maeve O'Sullivan (Garden City Park, N.Y.) headlines the group up front after starting 12 games as a sophomore. She finished the year third on the team in points with 18, scoring seven goals and assisting on four others. Her mark for goals was second on the team and she finished tied for first on the squad with a pair of game winning tallies.
 
Jessica Lanning (Hicksville, N.Y.) returns after scoring two goals and posting five points in 11 games for the Knights and is joined on the front line by Theresa Stinson (Troy, N.Y.) who was fourth on the team with 12 points on four goals and four helpers. Stinson won a pair of Skyline Conference Rookie of the Week honors during her freshman campaign.
 
Newcomer Haley Murphy (Massapequa, N.Y.) looks to make an immediate impact for the Mount during her rookie season.
 
Midfield: Senior Allison Jones (Merrick, N.Y.) returns after earning a First Team All-Conference selection in 2016. She started 16 of the 18 games she appeared in and totaled four goals, including one game winner, and three assists for 11 points. Classmate Nicole Cavallo (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) returns after starting 17 games as a junior and contributed 10 points on the strength of four goals and a pair of assists.
 
Junior Taylor Grella (Glen Cove, N.Y.) is back after appearing in 14 games and is joined in the midfield by sophomores Shannon O'Donoghue (East Meadow, N.Y.) and Jenna Lynch (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.). The trio will be joined by newcomers Nicolette Wurglics (Glendale, N.Y.), Miranda Fennessy (Monroe, N.Y.) and Alexa Franceschi (Red Hook, N.Y.).
 
Defense: The backline in 2017 is headlined by a pair of First Team All-Skyline Conference selections, including league Defensive Player of the Year Bridget McKeever (Wallkill, N.Y.). McKeever led the Mount in scoring a season ago with 24 points on the strength of a team-high nine goals and six helpers. Classmate and fellow First Team All-Conference pick, Destiny Ribadeneyra (MAybrook, N.Y.), paced the Mount with 10 assists and totaled 20 points after adding five goals. Fellow senior Emily Scheuer (North Baylon, N.Y.) was one of just three players to start all 18 games in 2016, contributing five goals to the scoring attack.
 
Junior Emma Costa (Rocky Point, N.Y.) started 15 games as a sophomore a season ago, while Claire Newman (Cromwell, Conn.) totaled four points in 12 games in her first season with the Knights.
 
Freshmen Maeve Ward (Warwick, N.Y.) and Alexandra Salamone (Sound Beach, N.Y.) look to add depth in 2017 to a talented defensive unit.
 
Goalkeeper: Senior net minder Mary Riley (Newburgh, N.Y.) enters her final collegiate season coming off a Second Team All-Skyline Conference selection in 2016. She started all 18 games in goal and posted three shutouts to go along with 64 saves. Heading into the 2017 opener, Riley holds the single season record for shutouts (11 in 2015) and is tied for the career mark in the category.
 
Sophomore Molly Jensen (Bayport, N.Y.) returns after seeing time in six games as a freshman, while rookie Cassidy Rykowski (Sloatsburg, N.Y.) looks to see time between the pipes for the Knights in her first collegiate season.
 
The Schedule: Following two challenging games this weekend, the Mount will open the home schedule on September 7 against Cobleskill before heading to the Vassar Tournament September 9-10. The Skyline Conference schedule is set to begin on September 19 against Yeshiva.