New York, N.Y. - The Skyline Conference's eight head women's lacrosse coaches recently voted on their 2016 preseason coaches poll and Farmingdale State was selected to finish second.
Defending Champion St. Joseph's-L.I. finished atop the poll receiving 47 points, including five first-place votes. Farmingdale State received two first-place votes in the tally and checks in at second place with 44 points, while Mount Saint Mary College (38 pts.) received one first-place vote en route to a third-place spot in the poll. Rounding out the fourth-through-eighth positions are: Purchase College (31); SUNY Old Westbury (25); The Sage Colleges (16); College of Mount Saint Vincent (13); and SUNY Maritime College (10).
The Rams finished 10-7 last season (6-1 Skyline) and fell, 7-5, in the Conference Championship at St. Joseph's-L.I. Farmingdale State returns three All-Conference players from last year. Senior captain Sara Rivadeneyra* (Ridge, N.Y.), who was a First Team All-Skyline selection in 2015, will be in charge of leading the defense. Junior goalkeeper Krista Spagnoletta (West Islip, N.Y.) is a two-time All-Conference and All-Region player and last year allowed only 9.01 goals per game and held a .522 save percentage. Senior midfielder Kristen Ranaldo (Commack, N.Y.), who earned Second Team All-Conference honors in '15, will be influential on draw controls this season.
Freshman midfielder Alexandra Sparrow (Levittown, N.Y.) and junior attack transfer Mia Johnson (Brentwood, N.Y.) are expected to have an immediate impact for the Rams.
The women's lacrosse team opens play on Saturday, March 5th at Scranton at 1:00 p.m. and will play their first home game on Thursday, March 10th against Ramapo at 3:30 p.m.
2016 Skyline Conference Women's Lacrosse Preseason Coaches Poll
1. St. Joseph's-Long Island (14-5 / 7-0), 47 (5)
2. Farmingdale State (10-7 / 6-1), 44 (2)
3. Mount Saint Mary (7-10 / 5-2), 38 (1)
4. Purchase (11-4 / 4-3), 31
5. Old Westbury (6-9 / 3-4), 25
6. Sage (2-11 / 2-5), 16
7. Mount Saint Vincent (2-10 / 1-6), 13
8. Maritime (3-7 / 0-7), 10
(First-place votes in parenthesis)
To view the complete Skyline Conference release, click HERE.
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