2018 Season Prospectus
Riverdale, NY – With training camp in the rear-view window and the new turf field at Gaelic Park in place, the curtain rises on the 2018 Manhattan Women's Lacrosse season later this week.
Second-year Head Coach
Katie McConnell enters the year with many familiar faces and a wide range of underclassmen and upperclassmen. The current roster features eight seniors, eight juniors 10 sophomores and eight freshmen; more importantly, the Jaspers return 26 players from 2017 and lose only one starter form the lineup.
"As opposed to last preseason, where we were learning all these new concepts, this year we've had the opportunity to just fine-tune them," said McConnell in an interview with the Jasper Sports Network. "We haven't missed a step. It's all about fine-tuning at this point."
ROSTER BREAKDOWN
2018 Roster
Forwards
While Manhattan loses its second-leading goal scorer from 2017,
Darby Nolan, to graduation, the Jaspers also return plenty of firepower. Junior
Molly Fitzpatrick, who scored a team-high 39 goals and 53 points, is back in the fold. Senior
Sarah Lang is one of two captains for 2018 and looks to capitalize off her 41 points from a year ago.
Junior
Jordyn DiCostanzo and sophomore
Emily Englert will also see plenty of time on the front line after both appeared in 14 games last year. Freshman
Grace Owens will compete for valuable minutes as well.
Midfielders
Manhattan has perhaps the most depth in the midfield unit. The Jaspers retain all of their starting midfielders from 2017. Senior
Kara Hodapp joins Lang as a captain this year and is one of four players that scored 20 goals last season. Hodapp will line up with 2017 All-MAAC Rookie Team honoree
Emily Sandford.
Senior
Molly Flores (22 draw controls) and junior
Caitlin Murphy (18 goals) carved out important roles last season and will look to do the same in 2018. Blauvelt native and freshman
Carmella Liscio could also vie for significant action.
Defenders
The Jasper defense features two All-MAAC honorees from 2017. Leading the way is
Emma Kaishian, who earned All-MAAC Second Team recognition back in May. Sophomore
Hailey Siemek was a MAAC All-Rookie and also makes up the back line. Junior
Jillian Calandra started every game she appeared in and figures to do the same.
Sophomore
Susan Morad is primed to make a jump in her second season in the Kelly Green and White. Senior
Katie Tucker started in 12 games last year and has provided a presence on defense in the past. Sophomore
Amanda Silvestri is another name to look out for on defense.
Goalkeepers
Starting netminder
Nikki Prestiano is back between the pipes for her junior year. The Yorktown Heights native played over 900 in goal in 2017, making 160 saves. Sophomore
Caitie Pluta played twice last season and made three saves in her two appearances.
2018 SCHEDULE
Full Schedule
Over the course of the 2018 season, Manhattan will travel almost 2,000 miles across six different states in the regular season. During the stretch, the Jaspers will play opponents from eight different conferences, including the MAAC.
Manhattan opens up with a road contest against the NEC's Mount St. Mary's on Saturday, February 17 at Noon. The first home game on the new turf field at Gaelic Park takes place on Saturday, February 24 at 1:00 pm when the Jaspers welcome Arizona State to Riverdale.
The first MAAC matchup features Manhattan and two-time defending champion Canisius on Saturday, March 24 at 11:00am. The conference home opener is on Saturday, April 7 at 9:30am versus Niagara. Senior Day is Wednesday, April 25 against Fairfield at 6:00pm.
COACH McCONNELL ON THE JASPER SPORTS NETWORK
Check out the full interview with Coach McConnell on the upcoming year below. McConnell discusses the players returning for Manhattan, the season opener and what she thinks the fans will be excited about the most for this team.
