After a season that saw 10 records either tied or broken, the Marist Red Foxes women’s soccer program will look to improve on an accomplished 2007 season.
Marist comes into the season as the preseason favorite in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), edging the defending conference champion Loyola Greyhounds by one point. When the preseason poll was released, the conference office also released the preseason first team selections. The Marist name could be found two times on that list – junior Maria Baez and sophomore captain Lauren Tillotson were named to the squad.
Goalkeepers
Marist comes into the 2008 campaign with three goalkeepers on the roster. Returning to the team are senior Caitlin Nazarechuk and red-shirt junior Anna Case. Nazarechuk has the majority of the experience between the pipes for the Foxes. She has played in 35 games, while accumulating a record of 7-15-0 with three shutouts during her first three seasons.
Despite sitting out last season, Case has played in 20 games and has a goals-against-average of 1.99, while matriculating a 3-6-3 record. She also has two shutouts, both of which came during the 2005 season.
Joining the Red Foxes this season is red-shirt sophomore Jamie Balzarini. The Holbrook native transferred to Marist after playing one season at UNC-Wilmington. Balzarini was a member of the 2006 Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) All-Rookie Team after an impressive season. In 2006, Balzarini played in 15 games while posting a 0.97 goals-against-average, and posting six shutouts. Balzarini’s former school advanced in the CAA tournament. Her record was 11-5-0.
Defense
Lauren Tillotson will look to anchor the defense this year after being named to the Preseason All-MAAC Team. Last season she played in all 19 games for Marist, and was a member of the 2007 MAAC All-Rookie Team.
Baez tallied eight assists last season for the Red Foxes, tied for the most in school history for a season. The junior was also named to the preseason first team.
Senior captain Ashley Chase will also be a contributor on defense. Last season she was on the field in every game the Foxes played in. She will look to improve on a season that saw four assists in 2007. Also returning for the Red Foxes are sophomore Gillian Kape and red-shirt junior captain Laura Schaefer. Kape played in 10 games for the Foxes in her rookie season, while battling injuries all year. Schaefer saw the field in 11 of the Foxes’ 19 contests last year.
Midfield
Junior captain Teresa Ferraro, who contributed greatly last season, will be in the midfield as well. She played in all 19 games and tallied 10 points (four goals, two assists).
Others returning to the midfield position include junior Mallory Inglese and sophomores Amy Tillotson and Katelynn Walsh. New midfielders this year for Marist are Devin Anuzis, Amanda Cardona, Mariah Downey and Kathryn Hannis.
Forward
Junior Kate Fox will lead the offensive attack for the Red Foxes in 2008. Last season she tallied eight goals and two assists for a total of 18 points, raising her career total in points to 31.
Alongside Fox will be sophomore Merrilynn Esteve. She has pulled into the Marist record books after just one season, with 18 total points, good for ninth place all time.
Fox and Esteve will get support from junior Alexandra Lauterborn. During her sophomore season, Lauterborn played in 18 games and netted three goals and one assist. Kassandra Palmer will be a part of the Marist offense in addition to three newcomers. They are Daniella Burns, Sara Hijazi, and Kristine Horwitz will look for time during the 2008 season. Burns has recovered from an injury last preseason to return to the lineup.
The schedule
Marist will open the 2008 season with two matches at the Puma Raider Tournament. After the tournament, Marist opened its home schedule against the Seton Hall Pirates at Tenney Stadium at Leonidoff Field on Sept. 4. The Foxes will trade home and away matches for five contests. Then Marist will travel to Fordham for a night showdown scheduled for 7 p.m. on Sept. 12. Marist will return home two days later to face St. Joseph’s on Sept. 14 at 1 p.m.
After traveling to Lafayette, for a 7 p.m. contest on Sept. 19, the Red Foxes will take on their third consecutive Pennsylvania opponent in Lehigh at home on Sept. 21 at 1 p.m.
Marist will play their next two non-conference games at home against Patriot League foes Army and Bucknell on Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. and Sept. 28 at 2 p.m. respectively. The Foxes will open MAAC play on Oct. 3 on a trip to western New York to take on Canisius at 7 p.m. and Niagara at 1 p.m. on Oct. 5. The next weekend the Foxes will play host to Siena at 4 p.m. on Oct. 10 as part of a double-header with the men’s soccer program.
The final weekend of the regular season will bring Loyola (Md.) and Rider to Poughkeepsie. The 2007 MAAC Championship rematch will take place on Oct. 31 at 7 p.m., while Marist will take on Rider on Nov. 2 at 1 p.m. to conclude the regular season.
The conference tournament will be hosted by Siena on Nov. 7 and Nov. 9. The top four teams from the regular season will qualify for the tournament, while the winner of the tournament will advance to the NCAA Tournament.