Newburgh, N.Y. – The Mount Saint Mary College Women's Soccer team opens the 2018 season on Friday night when it welcomes non-conference foe Ramapo to Kaplan Field. Kick-off with the Roadrunner is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
 
At A Glance: The Knights are coming off a 2017 season that saw them post a 15-4-2 overall record and a 9-0 mark against league rivals. The Mount advanced to the Skyline Conference Championship Final for the eighth straight season, falling to Farmingdale State 1-0.
 
The Knights return 15 players from last season's roster, but need to replace their top three point producers in Destiny Ribadeneyra, Bridget McKeever and Allison Jones. For the first time in four years, the Mount will open the season without Mary Riley in goal, who holds the career record for shutouts with 29. Riley recorded seven clean sheets in 2017 and posted a 0.93 goals against average.
 
Forward: Mount Saint Mary welcomes back four players who saw time up front a season ago in Theresa Stinson (Troy, N.Y.), Maeve O'Sullivan (Garden City Park, N.Y.), Haley Murphy (Massapequa, N.Y.) and Gina Rivera (Washingtonville, N.Y.). Murphy led the group with six goals and 14 points as a freshman, while O'Sullivan and Stinson each finished 2017 with four goals and Rivera potted one in her first season with the program.
 
The Mount looks to add depth to the forward group with a talented list of newcomers that should see time up top. The Knights welcome Liz Ellsworth (Suffern, N.Y.), Maggie-Ann Zecca (Mountainside, N.J.), Lauren Grippi (East Islip, N.Y.) and Hannah Chinsky (Massapequa, N.Y.) to the fold in 2018.
 
Midfield: Mount Saint Mary brings back six players in the midfield from last season, highlighted by First Team All-Skyline Conference selection Nicky Wurglics (Glendale, N.Y.) and Second Team All-League pick Alexa Franceschi (Red Hook, N.Y.). Wurlics finished the season third on the team in assists with six and totaled 12 points, while Franceshi scored five times and totaled 11 points as a freshman.
 
Also returning among the position group are senior Taylor Grella (Glen Cove, N.Y.), juniors Shannon O'Donoghue (East Meadow, N.Y.) and Jami Dipierdomenico (Hampton Bays, N.Y.) and sophomore Miranda Fennessy (Monroe, N.Y.).
 
Newcomers Chrissy Cannella (Cornwall, N.Y.), a Division I transfer from Marist, Brittany Bornstad (Linden, N.J.), Kayla Davis (Islip Terrace, N.Y.), Ashley Hunter (North Babylon, N.Y.) and Nikki Carter (Southington, Conn.) will look to step in and contribute from the start in 2018.
 
Defense: The Knights are tasked with replacing two-time Skyline Conference Defense Player of the Year Bridget McKeever and will look to follow up a season that saw the Mount allow just three goals to Skyline Conference opponents. Senior Emma Costa (Rocky Point, N.Y.) returns after being named Second Team All-Skyline Conference as a junior and is joined in the back by classmate Claire Newman (Cromwell, Conn.) and sophomores Maeve Ward (Warwick, N.Y.) and Alexandra Salamone (Sound Beach, N.Y.).
 
Mount Saint Mary welcomes five newcomers to the backline in 2018, including Jackie Lindsay (Baldwin, N.Y.), Julia DeSantis (Islip, N.Y.), Julie Roethel (Monroe, N.Y.), Sharon Peña (Harrison, N.Y.) and Kelly Platt (Staten Island, N.Y.).
 
Goalkeeper: The Knights enter the 2018 relatively inexperienced in goal with sophomore Cassidy Rykowski (Sloatsburg, N.Y.) and newcomer Taylor Moreau (New Windsor, N.Y.) between the pipes. Rykowski saw time in eight games in 2017, logging just over 382 minutes. She stopped four shots, posted one shutout and earned a pair of wins for the Knights as a rookie.
 
Head Coach: Chris Lyn begins his third season on the sidelines in 2018 and holds a 24-13-2 overall record over his previous two seasons, including a sterling 16-2 mark against league rivals. Following an unblemished conference regular season in 2017, Lyn was tabbed the Skyline Conference Coach of the Year.
 
Preseason Prognostications: Mount Saint Mary was picked to finish second in the Skyline Conference Preseason Poll that was released on Thursday morning. The Knights finished two points behind preseason favorite Farmingdale State and earned six of a possible 10 first place votes.
 
The Schedule: Mount Saint Mary will play nine home games in 2018, including a four game home stand from October 10-20. The road slate features two games at the Mayor's Cup in Oneonta, N.Y. and trips to Union and Farmingdale State.