Garden City, N.Y. - The 2012 women's lacrosse season was a transitional year highlighted by a new face at the helm of the program. Prior to the start, the women faced adversity and uncertainty in the offseason and had to deal with the pressures of high expectations; coming off three straight National Championships, two perfect seasons and just one loss in 59 games. Although they still notched a respectable 16-3 record, a mark that most schools would label as a stellar season, the Panthers quest for national supremacy was denied with a first round loss in the NCAA Tournament.
 
Despite falling short of their fourth consecutive National Championship, the Brown and Gold still had a truly impressive season highlighted by their third straight Northeast-10 Tournament title, wins over nationally ranked opponents, and dozens of awards that include All-America honors, All-Region accolades, All-Conference kudos and a number of team recognitions.
 
“Last season was full of up's and downs,” stated Head Coach Rob Grella. “Winning the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament was a great accomplishment but we fell short of reaching our ultimate goal; a national championship.  The team fought through adversity from the beginning of the summer of 2011 all the way through our NCAA tournament loss against LIU-Post.  I give the girls a ton of credit for being able to overcome those obstacles and having a successful season. ”
 
The preseason #3 Panthers will be without the familiar faces that have been the backbone of the last four Panther teams in Erica Devito, Marissa Mills and Courtney Acker. From 2009-12, the trio has seen 74 wins, three national titles, three conference titles and racked up a total of eight All-Conference, six All-Region and five All-America honors. Devito and Mills have combined for an astounding 431 goals, 155 assists and 586 points to go along with 222 ground balls while Acker has been a part of a solid defensive line that has allowed just 6.6 goals per game over the last four seasons.
 
“The loss of those three girls is going to be very difficult to deal with,” says Grella. “ Their leadership and abilities are definitely going to be missed. But this is a new year and I expect some of the veterans to step and fill those holes.”
 
Additionally, the Brown and Gold lose Arielle Burke, Lindsay Whitfield, Allison Staudt, Michelle Ceraso and Tara Gangarossa to graduation. Filling the voids left behind will certainly be a difficult task, but the transition should be easier with the crop of returning starters mixed in with the 10 newcomers Grella brought in.
 
“The newcomers are a very eclectic group.  They are all hard-working, blue-collar players.  If you tell them to run through a brick wall to get a ground ball, they'll do it.  Mix the newcomers with the returners and you have a completely different team from last year.”
 
Offense
The Panthers led the nation in scoring offense (17.89 goals per game) while coming in third in points (462) and scoring margin (9.32 goals per game differential). Devan Crimi played a large part in the success of the Panther scoring machine and returns as the leading goal getter (50 goals). The sophomore also dished out 21 assists for a total of 71 points and was nominated for the Preseason Player of the Year by InsideLacrosse.
 
“Devan had a very strong 2012 campaign and it's a great honor for her to be nominated for Preseason Player of the Year.  I expect her to step up as a leader on offense and help guide the young group of players around her.”
 
The senior attack duo of Meg Brown and Sara Sangiorgio combined for 91 goals last season and will by key components in keeping the offensive output at a high level. Mixed into the offense are two capable and talented sophomores in Alexa Froccaro and Danielle Jaycox; each of whom return for their second year after claiming NE-10 All-Rookie status last year. Froccaro tallied 29 goals and nine assists while Jaycox was close behind with 27 goals and six assists.
 
“Like Devan, Meg and Sara are going to have to provide the offense with veteran leadership.  We lacked offensive consistency last year.  It is going to be on our upperclassman to set the tone with discipline and focus.  Danielle and Alexa provided a nice spark for us last year.  Both of them have been working extremely hard this year and I expect them to make a tremendous impact this season.”
 
Melyssa Mathewson, Angela Oliveto and Alaina Lamont are all returning for their junior years while sophomore Felicia Mills will join them at midfield/attack. Grella added depth with the intention of having a deep bench that can score goals when he signed six high school standouts in Rachel O'Brien, Emily Keesling, Danielle Montano, Rachel Aitkens, Camille Rosellini and Gianna Gallo. Additionally he brought in an experienced attacker in junior transfer Roxanne Raab who played two years at Salisbury.
 
“The expectations for these girls are very high.  Our depth at attack and midfield is certainly going to make us stronger. Whether it's in practice, a scrimmage or a game, these girls are going to be thrown into situations in which they are going to have to be successful.”
 
Defense
During the 2012 season, Adelphi posted the third best scoring margin in the country, defeating opponents by an average of 9.32 goals per game. This was largely in part due to holding teams to just 8.58 scores per contest (fifth best in Division II). Over the course of the season, they held four teams to just six goals or less which included holding the Owls of Southern Connecticut State scoreless on April 18; the program's fourth shutout.


“I am very excited about our defensive front this year.  We have found our identity and our leaders are doing a great job of keeping our long and short term goals in mind.”
 
Commanding the defensive efforts will be Jacqueline Williams, the 2012 NE-10 Defensive Player of the Year and an All-Region and All-American honoree. The junior defender caused 13 turnovers, scooped up 26 ground balls and collected 38 draw controls.
 
“Jackie is a tenacious defender.  Her intensity and focus is hard to match.  It doesn't matter if it's the first drill in practice or the last five minutes of a game; Jackie is going to give you the same effort.”
 
Additionally, Brown will be a main force on the defensive end and her 50 ground balls and 24 caused turnovers are the top returning marks. Veterans Lauren Janelli, the 2012 NE-10 All-Rookie honoree, Laura Hedges, Stefani Jackson and Joanie Buczkowski add support and depth and will look to continue to keep the Panther defense a force to reckon with. The return of Katelynn Ciaci after missing last season due to an ACL injury should solidify a strong Panther front. Ciaci was the 2011 NE-10 Defensive Player of the Year, a First-Team All-Conference honoree and an IWLCA First-Team All-Region selection.
 
“Collectively, the returners are going to solidify the defense and they all know what it takes to be successful. It's just a matter of putting everything together to get the job done.  Ciaci's injury has made her into a more focused and disciplined player.  It is great to have her back at practice and I am very excited to see her get back on the field.”
 
High school standouts Grella inked during the offseason will make the Panthers an even more formidable force that will be difficult to score goals against. Cassidy Sauvageau helped Sevema Park High School win the Maryland State Championship while Nina Stoia comes from Longwood and Katy Richardson comes off of an impressive senior campaign that included All-District, All-Area, All-Conference and All-Region honors.
 
“The newcomers are going to provide a nice spark for us on defense.  They each come from successful high school programs and will give you 100% effort and then some.”
 
Goalie
Back for her third year will be a familiar face in Jordann Dempsey; the Panthers mainstay in the cage. Last season, in 1044:05 minutes of action, Dempsey registered an 8.51 goals against average which was fifth in the country. She also made 97 saves to go along with her impressive .396 save percentage.
 
“Jordann has been working incredibly hard since last year.  Having a full year of starting experience under her belt has made her into a more confident goalie.  She stepped up when it mattered last year and we expect big things from her.”
 
Joining Dempsey as goalkeeper will be newcomers Taylor Langston and Taylor Hayes. The 5-5 Langston hails from Calrsbad, California where she played lacrosse for La Costa Canyon while Hayes arrives locally from Kellenberg where she was a team captain and Long Island Catholic All-League honoree.
 
“Both Taylors are very talented and will have a positive effect on the overall success this year. ”
 
Schedule
The Brown and Gold's slate of games features five teams ranked in the IWLCA preseason top-10 and three that received votes. Each of the five teams e in the NE-10 which makes it one of the most competitive conferences in the country.
 
“The NE-10 is a tough conference.  Each team has great coaches and players which will make for a very competitive season.  ”
 
Additionally, they will host three of five non-conference opponents, two of which will be the school's first meeting. The assault on their sixth national title begins on Sunday, February 17 when they travel south to St. Leo, Florida for a matchup against the Lions of St. Leo University. Upon returning, the squad will face former East Coast Conference rival Molloy College on Friday, March 1 while rounding out their non-conference schedule on March 26 and April 24 when they host the Lakers of Grand Valley State and the Lions of Lindenwood University respectively.
 
Right after the Molloy contest, they head up to Springfield, Massachusetts the following morning when they dive right into conference action with a matchup against the Yellowjackets of American International College. Their first key game comes on March 30^th when they face the first ranked opponent of the year in preseason #7 Stonehill College.

The road only gets more difficult down the line with three of the remaining seven games against preseason nationall ranked teams beginning with eighth ranked New Haven on April 9. They will face second ranked Le Moyne on April 17 and then close out the regular season with ninth ranked Bentley on April 26 at home.
 
“Since fall ball, we have preached discipline, consistency and focus.  We need to take it one practice at a time…one game at a time. Our downfall will be looking ahead and being content.”