POUGHKEEPSIE, New York – Marist women's lacrosse just finished up its first full week of practice ahead of the 2020 season. Prior to the first game of the year, which will be Saturday, February 8 at Colgate, we will be taking a look into the team's positional groups every week. Last week, we took a look at the team's group of attackers, which can be found
here. For this period, we will dive into the team's group of defenders.
- The Red Foxes lost three defenders to graduation from last year's roster that played an integral role to the team's success, and were looked upon as leaders on and off the field. The graduating seniors from last year's roster were Gabby Childrose, Logan Boyle, and Caroline Polymeros.
- Childrose started all 18 games last season, and picked up 19 ground balls and 12 caused turnovers. She had a massive game against Manhattan in the MAAC quarterfinal last season, causing three turnovers and scooping two ground balls. Childrose was a member of the MAAC All-Academic Team all three years she was eligible, and as named to the ECAC Academic Honor Roll in 2018.
- Boyle played and started in 12 games last season, and started 42 games throughout her career as a Red Fox. She scooped up 53 ground balls and had 35 caused turnovers in her career. Her contributions will be missed.
- Polymeros made the switch to defense prior to last season, and she thrived in the role. In her senior year, she started all but one game, and tied for second on the team with a career-high 26 ground balls. She also tallied a career-high seven caused turnovers on the season. Polymeros was a three-time member of the MAAC All-Academic Team, and was named to the ECAC Academic Honor Roll in 2018.
- Marist returns five defenders from last year's roster for the 2020 season.
- Annie Sheehy returns after starting all 18 games last season.
- Allison Mahoney and Julia Luff also return this season after starting a combined 23 games in 2019.
- The list of returning defenders is rounded out by sophomore Sheridan DeVito and senior Emma LeMay.
- With Sheehy returning, Marist gets one of its defensive leaders back for one more season. Sheehy enters her senior season being named one of three captains after a very strong junior campaign. She was named All-MAAC Second Team Defense after accumulating 26 ground balls and 17 caused turnovers, both of which were tied for second on the team. Sheehy has been a staple in Marist's lineups all three years of her career, appearing in 52 total games and making 44 starts. She has career totals of 67 ground balls and 38 caused turnovers, to go with five draw controls. Sheehy is also a two-time member of the MAAC All-Academic Team.
- In Mahoney, the Red Foxes get back another key member of last year's defense. Mahoney started all but one game last season, and tied for second on the team with 17 caused turnovers. Mahoney also tallied a career-high 16 ground balls in 2019, and will be looking to improve on that mark in 2020. She was also named to the MAAC All-Academic Team following last year, which was the first year she was eligible.
- Luff returning also gives a big boost to Marist's defense. Although she only started in four games last season, she appeared in 13 games and was a key cog in the middle of Marist's defense when she played. Luff forced a career-high six caused turnovers last season, and scooped up five ground balls. For her career, Luff has scooped up 26 ground balls and caused 15 turnovers. She enters her senior year after being named to the MAAC All-Academic Team each of the last two seasons, as well as the ECAC President's Honor Roll in 2018.
- DeVito returns as a sophomore who did not play a ton last season. DeVito only appeared in one game as a freshman, but she played well in the limited time. Se was able to secure a ground ball and cause a turnover at Vermont back on February 24, 2019. Head Coach Jessica Wilkinson anticipates that DeVito will be able to breakout this season with an added year of experience, and will play a major role on defense.
- In LeMay, Marist gets back a valuable senior leader. She is a two-time member of the MAAC All-Academic Team, and made the ECAC President's Honor Roll in 2018. Also in 2018, LeMay was a Yeardley Reynolds Love Unsung Hero Award Finalist.
- Delaney Galvin, who has started all 25 games the past two seasons, returns for her junior season in 2020. She followed up an incredible freshman year, in which she was named MAAC Goalkeeper of the Year after leading the MAAC in save percentage (.539) and saves per game (11.63), with a solid sophomore campaign. Galvin totaled 168 saves on 2019, and led the team with 36 ground balls.
- Chloe Monroe and Gabrielle Orlando return to provide depth at the goalkeeping position.
- Wilkinson noted that all three goalies have made tremendous improvements in their hands quickness, reaction, clears and mentality
Two new freshman defenders are joining the program ahead of the 2020 season. The group consists of
Jenna Bergin and
Camryn Stoner. Both freshmen provide valuable depth at defense, and could potentially see a major role off the bench this season. Wilkinson believes that these two freshmen have a chance to have a bigger impact that fans may expect.
"We made a number of adjustments to our defense over the last few months," Wilkinson said. "Both our field players and goalies have bought into a new system that will help us to have even more control and confidence defensively. As a unit, I believe we've become more aware and we are much more capable of taking chances. I really believe that the experience from this group will be especially helpful for the underclassmen. We have a lot of talent in returners
Annie Sheehy,
Julia Luff, and
Allison Mahoney, with Sheri DeVito not far behind. As for our goalie team, junior
Delaney Galvin is back with sophomores Gaby Orlando and
Chloe Monroe, all of which have made tremendous improvements in the offseason. Confidence has been key for this group. They have clear set goals, and they intend to hit the mark come season."
