Aug. 20, 2002
Poughkeepsie, NY-The Marist College women's soccer team was picked second in the 2002 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Preseason Poll, and had two student-athletes named to the Preseason All-MAAC Team. Goalkeeper Mellanie Nai (Suffield, CT) and back Jenny Shanks (Sound Beach, NY) were the two Red Fox players selected by the leagues 10 coaches.
The Marist women's soccer team was picked second with 83 points in the preseason poll, 17 points behind defending champion Loyola (100). Finishing behind the Red Foxes were Fairfield (78), Siena (62), Niagara (60), Manhattan (48), Rider (43), Canisius (42), Iona (20), and Saint Peter's (14).
Last season Nai was named the MAAC Goalie of the Year and earned First Team All-Conference honors, as well as earning a spot on the MAAC All-Academic team. She was also named the MAAC Player of the Week and ECAC Goalkeeper of the Week on October 15th. She finished last season ranked third in the NCAA with 8.5 saves a game, and has 153 saves. In 2001 she set two single season school records of a .860 save percentage and a 1.27 Goals Against Average (GAA), as well as recording four shutouts.
Shanks was named First Team All-MAAC and earned MAAC All-Academic Team honors last fall. She was named to the CoSida/Verizon Academic All-American Second Team for District I based on her performance on and off the field. In 2001 she recorded a team-high six assists, while starting all 20 games for the Red Foxes. Shanks currently ranks in the top ten All-Time in goals (5), assists (7), and total points (17) at Marist.
The soccer season opens at home on August 31st at 7:00 p.m. against Long Island University under the newly installed permanent lights on Leonidoff Field. The Red Foxes will begin defense of their regular season title when they host Iona in their first game of conference play on October 11th. Marist plays defending MAAC champion, Loyola, on October 27th, and then concludes its season on the road against Canisius on November 3rd. Marist will host the three-day MAAC Tournament on November 8-10th, with the champion earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
