Editor's Note: The Marist Athletics Department is continuing to highlight its Senior Awards finalists. From April 20-May 15, a feature story will be presented on each finalist for Sportsperson of the Year.

Sportsperson Finalists: Megan Fergus (Volleyball) | Sydney Ford (Women's Rowing) | Alana Gilmer (Women's Basketball) |  Denise Grohn (Women's Cross Country/Track) | Rebekah Hand (Women's Basketball) | Samantha Mehalick (Women's Lacrosse) | Anais Mathes (Water Polo) | Ali Milam (Softball) | Juliet Nowak (Swimming & Diving) | Claire Oberdorf (Softball/Women's Basketball)
 
Previous finalists: Female Strength & Conditioning (April 14) | Male Strength & Conditioning (April 15) | Female Pizzani (April 16) | Male Pizzani (April 17)
 
POUGHKEEPSIE, New York – Alexa Svensson narrowed her gaze onto her target. She raised her left arm towards the Hudson Valley sky, signaling the beginning of her approach. Stepping with her left foot, she shifted her momentum to her right side. Five trots from the right sideline later, that same left foot swung backwards, then forwards into the soccer ball.
 
The free kick traveled 35 yards into the air before landing on its target. Though the goal was in range, Svensson instead sought her teammate, Nicole Sasso. The captain sized up the incoming projectile, shuffling left and heading the ball into the lower right corner of the goal.
 
Almost 18 minutes later, Svensson performed the same routine, only her kick emanated from the right corner this time. She placed the out-swinging corner kick towards the left goalpost. The Niagara defense couldn't corral the pinballing attempt. Sasso could, however, and pocketed her second goal of the half with more help from Svensson.
 
Marist Women's Soccer was used to Svensson setting up her teammates for opportunities like these. She executed enough times on such plays to become the Red Foxes' all-time assists leader and a 2020 Female Sportsperson of the Year finalist.
 
The 5-foot-8 defender from Commack, New York capped her Marist tenure with 23 assists, along with two goals, across 70 career games. She also holds a tie for the single-game record with two assists. She accomplished that feat on that afternoon in Poughkeepsie against the Purple Eagles and on three other occasions, the most by any Red Fox.

27' | MARIST GOAL!!!!!!!! Alexa Svensson and Nicole Sasso link up on a free kick, giving the Red Foxes a 1-0 advantage! #GoRedFoxes pic.twitter.com/ZR4ZRIZqhS

— Marist Womens Soccer (@MaristWSoccer) October 9, 2019

JOURNEY TO TENNEY

 
Before arriving to Marist in the fall of 2016, Svensson established herself as someone who was capable of supplying offensive firepower in many facets. At Commack High School, she was the team's leading goal scorer and two-time leader in points by her senior year. She garnered Suffolk County League One Player of the Year honors and picked up two All-Suffolk awards throughout her career.
 
Prior to her first practice, former Head Coach Katherine Lyn viewed Svensson as a two-contributor. "One of the best defensive center midfielders in the region, she brings composure to the game with her left-footed technical ability," said Lyn in the press release announcing the Class of 2020. "She will be both an attacking and defensive force for us."
 
Svensson wanted to make an immediate impact on the team before she stepped foot on the Tenney Stadium turf. In a first-person account during the summer of 2016, Svensson mentioned that while many of her hometown and high school friends were partying with one another to celebrate their final months together, she was "working hard towards getting myself in the best shape that I can possibly be for this season, as well as getting myself ready to adjust to the new level of speed and aggression of Division I soccer."
 
That work in the summer paid early dividends. The Long Islander started the first five games of her rookie campaign. Her first assists came in the same game; she picked up the secondary helper on classmate Keri Bradley's first-career strike before assisting on the game-winning goal to beat Albany on September 4, 2016.
 
A week later, she registered another assist against Winthrop, then scored the first goal of her career against Monmouth on September 17. In total, she capped her freshman season with the one goal and three assists.  

BREAKOUT PACE

As sophomore year arrived, Svensson began to shift into a more defensive-focused role in Marist's formation. Despite that, the centerback positioned herself to boost her offensive numbers from a season ago.
 
With a similar mindset to the previous summer, Svensson trained to start 2017 on the right note. She certainly did that in non-conference play, registering a point in five of her first seven games.
 
In the opening game vs. Delaware State, Svensson displayed the strength of that left foot that proved reliable already, blasting a 30-yard shot that the goalkeeper mishandled for an insurance tally in a 3-0 triumph.
 
In the next six games, she was the catalyst for goals against foes such as St. John's and Seton Hall from the Big East, Delaware of the CAA, and the America East's Maine. Each assist for the first three foes came off free kicks. The equalizer against the Black Bears was set up via a corner kick, though Svensson got involved on the play with a shot that was initially stopped.
 
All told, she ended her sophomore year with a team-best six assists, and tied for the second spot on the team in points.
 

A NEW PROGRAM

 
Before her junior season, Leigh Howard was brought in as head coach. Inevitably, a new coaching regime brings different strategies and personnel to the team. However, Svensson's production and consistency on set pieces were such key factors before that her role remained unchanged through the transition under Howard.
 
Svensson rewarded that trust with her best season yet, tying the MAAC lead and pacing the Red Foxes with a career-best eight assists. Whereas last year's impressive run of games came in non-conference play, Svensson's best ball was against conference foes, with seven coming in MAAC competition. Most remarkable, and simultaneously unsurprising, was the nature of each assist. Each helper came on some form of a Svensson free kick, corner kick, shot, or play on the ball during a set piece.
 
After three years, her acumen on free kicks and corner kicks became a staple for the opponents' scouting reports, though that did not make it any easier to defend. Svensson headed into senior year with 17 career assists, which already put her in the top five. She would need four assists to reach Rycke Guiney's program peak of 21 in 2019.
 

GOING FOR GOLD

 
Assist No. 18 had to wait until the sixth game of Svensson's senior season. Appropriately, however, it came against Maine on September 12 via a left-footed corner that found Kristen Prevosto's noggin. With the helper, Svensson recorded an assist in all three games against the Black Bears across her career.
 
The pair connected again in Marist's MAAC opener on September 22 against Iona. The five steps preceded the left boot, which swung in to Prevosto, who camped out on the "F" of the Red Foxes logo inside the box. Svensson moved into a tie with Samantha Panzner for second all-time.
 
Then came the Niagara contest, where her two passes to Sasso set the table for a 3-0 win. No matter what would happen the rest of the season, Svensson was guaranteed a share of the program record.
 
"Her consistency in the MAAC is unmatched, I think," lauded Sasso after the October 9 contest. "She knows where to put the ball. She has the right weight on it, and she knows to find the big targets."
 
In the next game, a road bout at Siena on October 12, Marist was awarded multiple corner kicks in the 47^th minute. On the second attempt, Svensson laced the ball into the box. The Siena defense had fits clearing it, and Sasso sent it home. The team believed she had broken the record at the time, celebrating after the score and with the traditional postgame tailgate.
 
However, the box score showed an unassisted score – the record would have to wait another day.
 
That day arrived 11 sleeps later in the penultimate road game of the regular season. After a deadlocked first half against Saint Peter's, Svensson readied a free kick by the right sideline in the 58^th minute. The first steps came. The left foot was next. The ball soared into the box, as accurate as the Marist contingent always expects it to be. The ball jostled inside, and Victoria Colatosti hammered it home for a key 1-0 lead.
 
There was no doubt on this play – the all-time assists record was Svensson's and Svensson's alone. Just to be safe, however, she volleyed a corner kick to Sasso for an insurance goal (and an insurance assist) in the 73^rd minute to seal the victory and her place in the Marist annals.

There's a NEW all-time assists leader.

Congratulations to Alexa Svensson for rewriting the record books with her 22nd career assist!!! #GoRedFoxes pic.twitter.com/CRXIlCcfuX

— Marist Womens Soccer (@MaristWSoccer) October 23, 2019

MORE ABOUT THE LEGACY

 
Alexa Svensson has stamped her imprint on the Marist record books with her 23 assists, and cements her accolades into the lore of Marist Women's Soccer. Yet, when talking about the true legacy Svensson leaves, it stretches beyond just the record.
 
"Alexa's impact on our program goes beyond any stat line, summation of minute played, or record that she achieved," remarked Howard. "Though she finished her four years as the all-time career leader in assists, which for a centerback is a truly remarkable feat, what she brought in terms of the intangibles is what will stay with this program indefinitely. Her competitive drive, willingness to push those around her, and pursuit of excellence set the bar for this team in training, in conditioning, and in games."
 
Indeed, Svensson reflects similar sentiments with what she's wanted to impart on the program as she transitions to next phase of her life: "To me, my legacy, is one of being true to myself and my values, regardless of the circumstances. I am not and have not been a perfect person or soccer player. However, I have always been an honest one who cares about her teammates and would do anything for them, on or off the field."
 
It's easy to trust her words. After all, she's the all-time leader in caring about her teammates' goal statistics.

Today we look at centerback, Alexa Svensson, and what she hopes to leave the program with after her four years 4?????? pic.twitter.com/I0JuW3fCKW

— Marist Womens Soccer (@MaristWSoccer) October 23, 2019