Photo Credit: GoBonnies.com
By Chuckie Maggio @chuckiemaggio
The St. Bonaventure women’s soccer team kicks off the 2016 season on Friday against Binghamton, a team it has defeated three of the last four meetings.
After the graduation of a decorated senior class, coach Steve Brdarski and his staff recruited well and return plenty of talent. Four of Bona’s first five games are at home, so fans will get early opportunities to check out the squad.
Here are the numbers to know for the 2016 Bonnies:
23: All 23 players on the team were recruited by Brdarski for the first time. Brdarski predecessor Manoj Khettry’s last recruiting class was the class of 2016 graduates.
3: Players from Webster Thomas High School in Webster, N.Y. There are no other high schools with multiple players represented.
14th: Bonaventure’s place in the Atlantic 10 preseason poll for the second consecutive year (last). Dayton was chosen as the preseason favorite for the eighth consecutive year in the poll, which is conducted by the league’s 14 head coaches.
72%: scoring lost from last season. Of the 25 goals SBU scored in 2015, 18 of them were scored by seniors- 10 by Abby Maiello, seven by Lauren Hill and one by Stephanie Jenkins.
No. to know for #1 Beth Moore: 1.84, Moore’s goals against average in 2015. The starting goalkeeper made 66 saves, with a 4-6-2 record in her sophomore campaign.
No. to know for #2 Gretta LaCouture: 4. The midfielder, a Denver native, started four games and took four shots, all on goal, in her freshman season.
No. to know for #4 Alex Pochop: 18. The versatile defender/midfielder saw time in 18 of the 19 matches in her sophomore campaign, earning eight starts.
No. to know for #5 Mirae Whitaker: 19. The senior defender from West Lafayette, Ind. started all 19 games for the brown and white in 2015.
No. to know for #6 Bianca Kristo: 13. Kristo, a strong defensive midfielder, appeared in 13 games in her freshman year. The Burlington, Ontario native started four matches.
No. to know for #7 Abby McKearin: 168 career high school goals for the 2015 Gatorade Vermont Player of the Year and Vermont Wendy’s High School Heisman. McKearin also tallied 50 assists and won five state titles, three in soccer and two in basketball, where she was also a 1,000-point scorer.
(Photo Credit: NSCA Sports)
No. to know for #8 Bella Marra: 2. Marra led Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (Coraoplis, Pa.) in scoring and assists twice, was captain in two seasons and was named All-Section twice. She was also a team captain for basketball, ranking second on her team in three-pointers.
No. to know for #9 Sydney Cerza: 110 career high school goals for the 2014 Buffalo News Prep Talk Player of the Year and All-Western New York Girls Soccer Player of the Year. The Clarence, N.Y. native led her team in scoring in each of her five varsity seasons. She made the All-State First Team and NSCAA All-Region teams in 2014 and 2015.
No. to know for #10 Marley Jarvis: 3. Jarvis won three straight Section V championships at Webster Thomas High School and parlayed that success with a strong first collegiate season. The 5-foot-7 midfielder started 15 matches and saw time in all 19, logging an assist in Bona’s thrilling 3-2 comeback win over Cleveland State.
No. to know for #11 Mary Tona: 31 goals in Tona’s senior season at Coughlin High School in Plains, Pa, with a total of 112 career goals. She is listed as a forward but also played midfield and defense for Coughlin, adding 20 assists in her final year as well. Tona was named the 2015 Citizen’s Voice and Times-Leader Player of the Year as well as making the All-Region East team and Pennsylvania All-State team.
No. to know for #12 Tori Bernardo: 43 wins over her four years at Wilbraham and Monson Academy in Springfield, Mass. W&M won two Women’s Western New England Prep School Soccer Association titles over that span and won the Women’s Western New England Class B Championship her senior season. She was a two-time MVP. Bernardo appeared in two games during her freshman season.
No. to know for #13 Jennifer Morris: 3 career assists for the brown and white, all occurring in the 2014 season. Morris was a valuable defender in 2015, starting 16 of her 18 appearances. She was also named to the Atlantic 10 Commissioner’s Honor Roll.
No. to know for #14 Bella May: 6. May was named all-league three times as a soccer player and three times as a softball player at C.W. Baker High School in Baldwinsville, N.Y. She was also named First Team All-Central New York for three years and won the sportsmanship award at the Class AA regional final.
No. to know for #16 Danielle Vis: 17 points in 2015 (five goals and a team-leading seven assists). Only Maiello and Hill scored more goals over the past two seasons than Vis’s nine, and only Maiello registered more assists than her eight.
No. to know for #17 Morgan Zlockie: 121 career goals for Ellicottville Central School, with 25 assists chipped in as well. Zlockie was named the 2013 Big 30 Player of the Year, First Team All-State from 2012-15 and a CCAA All-Star First Team selection from 2011-15.
No. to know for #18 Jessica Scruggs: 11 shots taken in 2015, with eight on target and two goals scored. The Midlothian, Va. native was a key player in the Cleveland State win, with a goal and an assist.
No. to know for #19 Sabrina Sousa-Sampson: 100. The freshman midfielder and Toronto native competed in the 100-meter dash in the OFSAA (Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations) Track and Field Championships. On the soccer field, she was named SC Toronto’s Player of the Year, played two seasons for Team Ontario and was named Oakwood Collegiate Institute’s Female Athlete of the Year.
No. to know for #20 Brittany Tubiolo: 12. The Webster, N.Y. native appeared in 12 games in her sophomore season, making four starts. Tubiolo only played in four matches her freshman year, so expect her role to continue to grow.
No. to know for #21 Maddie Mason: 13. The third Webster Thomas alum on the team scored 13 goals in her last two high school seasons despite logging much of her time at center back. She was named all-region and All-State Third Team following her senior year.
No. to know for #22 Caitlin Cook: 40. The midfielder from Almond, N.Y. led all of Section V with 40 goals as a senior, finishing her career with 123 goals and 35 assists. Cook was named the league’s offensive player of the year and an All-State Second Team selection.
No. to know for #23 Sydney Cassagnol: 5. The Greenwood Village, Colorado native was part of a Bona defensive group that recorded five shutouts in 2014. She was sidelined in 2015 with an ACL injury.
No. to know for #25 Kylie Terwilliger: 9. The defender from Indianapolis, Ind. started nine games in her first college season, seeing time in all but one match. The pre-med major also landed on the Atlantic 10 Commissioner’s Honor Roll for her work in the classroom.
No. to know for #28 Lauren Malcolm: 2012. The freshman goalkeeper was a member of Moon Area High School’s 2012 state championship team. As a senior, she earned All-Section and All-WPIAL honors.
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