Washington College Women’s Soccer Season Preview

CHESTERTOWN, Md. – In 2017, the Washington College women’s soccer team achieved a lot as it had its best winning percentage in the history of the program at .441, won its first Centennial Conference road contest since 2009 and for the second straight year went 5-1-1 in non-conference matches. In 2018, the Shorewomen seek to build off of their 2017 achievements, tally their first-ever winning campaign and become a contender for the Centennial Conference Tournament under the second year head coach Tom Reilly following a 7-9-1 mark in his inaugural campaign.

The six seniors in the mix for 2018 are goalkeeper Courtney Colbert (Egg Harbor Township, N.J./Egg Harbor Township), midfielder Picabo French (Tustin, Calif./Orange Lutheran), forward/midfielder Lauren Neary (Middletown, Md./Middletown), midfielder Lindsay Russell(Wilmington, Del./Ursuline Academy), midfielder Arianna Sabatino (Dix Hills, N.Y./Half Hollows Hills West) and forward Olivia Sabatino (Dix Hills, N.Y./Half Hollows Hills West).

Olivia Sabatino, who earned All-Centennial honors for the first time last season with a spot on the second team, led the team in goals (7) and points (18) last fall and tied for second on the Shorewomen in assists with four. She tied for sixth in the CC in points, seventh in the CC in scores and tied for 10th in helpers last season as she played and started in 15 contests. Olivia’s twin sister Arianna, who garnered All-Centennial Conference recognition for the second straight year in 2017, finished second on the team in goals (6) and points (14) as she landed on the second team after being honorable mention in 2016. Arianna was ninth in the Centennial in goals and 10th in the conference in points as she started in all 17 matches. Neary, who played in all 17 matches, starting four times, had three scores for six points, both of which were career-bests as last season, Washington finished second in the conference in shooting percentage as they scored on 14.4% of the shots they took. Russell became a key part of the Shorewomen’s offense last fall as after not tallying a point in her first two years, she had four goals and three assists for 11 points as she earned a starting assignment all 17 times. French, had one goal and one assist for three points in 12 contests with one start. Her goal was the game-winner in a 3-1 victory over Delaware Valley. Colbert played 727:40 last season in goal in 15 contests, 10 of which were starts. She had two combined shutouts last season.

The seven juniors that will represent the team for the 2018 season are forward Tatiana Baughman (Worton, Md./Gunston School), back Maia Duval (Las Cruces, N.M./American School of Madrid (Spain), midfielder/forward Megan Klink (Chesapeake Beach, Md./Northern), midfielder Cayla Marcinko (Baltimore, Md./Mercy), forward Parker Morris (Severna Park, Md./Severn School), back Maddie Noonan (Burlington, Vt./Burlington) and back Bryanna Rupprecht(Linthicum, Md./North County).

Marcinko tied for second on the team and ninth in the Centennial in assists with four and she added a goal for six points as she became a part of the team’s offense in 2017. Duval helped the squad to four shutouts last season as she started in all 17 matches. Noonan played in 15 contests, starting 11 times, for Washington in 2017 and Morris, who is being moved up to the offense from the back, played in 12 contests last season. Baughman, the team’s Most Improved Player in 2017, played in a career-best 13 matches last fall. Rupprecht appeared in eight contests and earned her first career start at Salisbury last September and Klink got into five matches.

There are three sophomores this fall on the Shorewomen Soccer roster – goalkeeper Annalie Buscarino (Centereach, N.Y./Centereach), back Brenda Clark(Rockville Centre, Md./Oceanside) and forward Sara Douglas (Forest Hill, Md./Fallston).

Buscarino played a team-best 800:04 in goal last season, starting six times in 14 outings. She had a team-high 42 saves, including setting a personal-best with 10 against nationally ranked Swarthmore. Douglas had one goal and one assist for three points in 13 contests as she scored on her only shot in 2017, while Clark started 11 times in 15 appearances.

The squad will have eight freshman this season and they are back Peri Bertolami (Glenmoore, Pa./Owen J. Roberts), midfielder Kelsey Hall (Snow Hill, Md./Snow Hill), forward/midfielder Emily Jacoby (Jackson, N.J./Jackson Memorial), back Brianna Malgieri (Brick, N.J./Red Bank Catholic), midfielder Bess Mascone (Middletown, N.J./Middletown North), forward Erin O’Reilly (Northborough, Mass./Algonquin Regional), midfielder Brianna Parise (Florence, N.J./Holy Cross Academy) and goalkeeper Noah Smith (Island Heights, N.J./Central Regional).

Joining Reilly on his staff are assistant coaches Julia Kantor, who is in her third year with the program, and Kerrin Ehrensbeck and Dawn Reilly, who are both in their second year with the team.

Schedule Breakdown
Total Matches: 16 (eight home and eight away)
Home and Season Opener: August 31 versus Wesley (7:00 p.m.)
Away Opener: September 2 at Rosemont (12:00 p.m.)
Centennial Home Opener: September 19 versus Bryn Mawr (7:00 p.m.)
Centennial Away Opener: September 15 at Gettysburg (4:00 p.m.)
Centennial Home Opponents: Bryn Mawr, McDaniel (9/29), Dickinson (10/6), Haverford (10/10) and Muhlenberg (10/27)
Centennial Road Opponents: Gettysburg, #6 Johns Hopkins (9/22), #21 Swarthmore (10/2), Franklin & Marshall (10/13), Ursinus (10/24)
Non-Conference Home Opponents: Wesley, Rutgers-Camden (9/8), Cabrini (9/25)
Non-Conference Road Opponents: Rosemont, Hood (9/12), Stockton (10/21)