Newburgh, N.Y. – The Mount Saint Mary College Women's Soccer team opens a challenging 2022 schedule Thursday night when it travels to New York University and opens the home schedule on September 4 when it plays host to Ithaca. Live Stats and Video will be available for both Thursday's 7:00 p.m. kick-off in Newark, N.J. and Sunday's 3:00 p.m. contest at Kaplan Field.
 
A Look Back: Mount Saint Mary posted an 11-8-2 overall record in 2021 and an 8-1-1 mark in Skyline Conference play, earning the third seed in the Skyline Conference Championship. The Knights scored a 2-0 win over Sarah Lawrence in the First Round and advanced to its 10^th championship final in 11 years with a 1-0 semifinal victory over Manhattanville. The Knights would suffer a 2-0 loss to top seed Farmingdale State in the championship final before earning a berth into the 2021 ECAC Championship where it took on William Paterson.
 
Who's Back: The Knights need to replace four of its top five scorers from a season ago, including First Team All-Skyline Conference selection Brittany Bornstad, who paced the team with nine assists and 19 points. Bornstad was the lone Knights to start all 21 team games a season ago and played 1,761 minutes on the back line.
 
Raina Quinones (West Babylon, N.Y.) is the team's top returning scorer for the 2021 team after posting seven goals and 15 points on her way to being named Second Team All-Skyline Conference.
 
Mount Saint Mary also welcomes back All-Skyline Conference selections Chloe Kennedy (Middletown, N.Y.) and Christina Kakavas (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) in 2022. Kennedy started 18 games in her first collegiate season in the back for the Knights and assisted on four goals. Kakavas started 16 games in goal in her rookie campaign and finished the year with five shutouts to go along with an .800 save percentage and a 1.08 goals against average. Kakavas rounded out the season with 72 saves for the Knights.
 
Forward/Midfield: The Knights look to move towards the top of the Skyline Conference in offense in 2022 after finishing the middle of the pack in 2021 in both goals and points.
Returning up front for the Mount are Darla Petricca (New Hyde Park, N.Y.), Wendy Guerra (Newburgh, N.Y.), Amada DeVito (Massapequa, N.Y.) and Alexis Grippi (East Islip, N.Y.). Grippi appeared in eight games in her first season with the Mount in 2021, while Guerra and Petricca combined for four goals and 11 points. Guerra closed out her rookie season with three tallies and seven points, while Petricca scored once and assisted on a pair of goals as a freshman a season ago. DeVito supported the Mount's offensive attack in 2021 with a pair of assists in seven games played.
 
In the midfield, Mount Saint Mary welcomes back Kate Bazylewicz (Farmingdale, N.Y.), Megan Stosch (North Babylon, N.Y.), Mary Langan (New Hyde Park, N.Y.) and Marilena Mangiaracina (Franklin Square, N.Y.). Mangiaracina brings the most experience of the group, entering her season campaign following a 2021 season that saw her appear in eight games and tally one goal.
 
Stosch finished off her rookie season in 2021 with three goals with Langan starting nine games and playing just shy of 1,000 minutes. Bazylewicz saw time in four games as a rookie for the Knights in 2021.
 
A talented group of newcomers enters the fold in 2022 with Jailyn Labuda (Glen Spey, N.Y.), Shannon McGowan (Farmingdale, N.Y.), Angie Mainiero (Vineland, N.J.), Emma Mihale (Oceanside, N.Y.) and Kaitlin Hansen (Port Jervis, N.Y.) vying for time for the jump in 2022.
 
Mainero is coming off a high school career that saw her earn First Team Cape Atlantic honors three times while McGowan was named All-Conference in both soccer and basketball during her career at Farmingdale High School.
 
Defense: Kennedy headlines the returning group on defense, while Julia Accetura (Prospect, Conn.) is back for her senior campaign with the Mount. A mainstay in the Mount's lineup over the course of her career, Accetura started 11 games in 2021 and made 18 starts on the backline in 2019.
 
Alexa Centrone (West Babylon, N.Y.) and Vanessa Vasilakis (Franklin Square, N.Y.) also return in the back for the Mount with Centrone appearing in 18 games and making eight starts as a rookie and Vasilakis appearing in a pair of games in her first season with the Knights.
 
Maria Baldwin (Patchogue, N.Y.) enters the mix in 2022 coming off a high school career that saw her named All-Conference and All-Academic at Patchogue-Medford.
 
Goalkeeper: The Knights welcome back two talented keepers in 2022 in Kakavas and Caroline Brucato (Massapequa Park, N.Y.). Kakavas saw bulk of time down the stretch playing 1,501:40 of a possible 1,934:29 in 2021. Brucato made five starts and played in eight games as a rookie and produced a 1.04 goals against average and a .878 save percentage while making 36 saves.
 
Head Coach: Christopher Lyn returns for his sixth season, and seventh year overall, at the Mount and has posted a 57-37-7 overall record and a 41-4-2 mark against league rivals. Lyn was tabbed the Skyline Conference Coach of the Year in 2017.
 
Scouting NYU: The Violets begin the 2022 season on Thursday after a 2021 year that saw them post an 8-7-1 overall record and a 1-5-1 mark in the UAA.
 
Recent History: The Knights and Violets have met six times since 2012, including in each of the last four seasons. The Knights have posted a pair of victories over NYU, scoring a 2-0 win in 2012 on the road and a 2-0 triumph at home in 2018.
 
A Look At Ithaca: The Bombers begin their season on Thursday at Elmira and are coming off a 2021 season that produced a 14-5 overall record and a 7-2 mark in the Liberty League. Ithaca fell to perennial power William Smith 3-2 in overtime in the Liberty League Championship game before dropping a 3-0 decision to Stevens in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament.
 
Recent History: 2022 will mark the fourth straight season the Knights and Bombers have met, with Ithaca coming away victorious in each of the previous three tilts.
 
The Schedule: In addition to NYU and Ithaca, the 2022 schedule features challenging non-conference games against New Paltz, Salisbury, St. Mary's-Maryland, RPI, Skidmore and Hamilton.
 
The Skyline Conference schedule gets underway on at Yeshiva on September 15 and features home league games against Sarah Lawrence, Maritime, newcomer USMMA, Old Westbury and Purchase.
 
The 2022 Skyline Conference Championship gets underway on October 29 with the First Round and continues on November 2 with the Semifinal Round. The conference crown will be earned on November 5 at the highest remaining seed.