Pace Women's Soccer Kicks Off 2018 at Home Thursday Night

PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. – Soccer season gets underway at Pace University on Thursday night, as the Setters' women's soccer team begins the new year at home against Post University at 5 p.m. Last Season Led by head coach Mike Winn, who will be beginning his 19th year at the Pace helm, the Setters finished fifth in the Northeast-10 Conference standings last season. Pace was 8-5-1 in conference play, earning a berth into the NE10 Tournament for a second-straight year with the No. 5 seed. New-Look Setters Pace will be looking to replace eight starters from a year ago, including a trio of All-NE10 performers in Drew Ribadeneyra (Maybrook, NY/Valley Central), Hayley Pascoal (Freehold, NJ/Freehold Township) and Emma Sinanan (Toms River, NJ/Toms River East). The Setters' senior class from 2017 was one of the most successful in program history, totaling 40 wins and three NE10 Tournament appearances during their tenure. Returning Point Producers Pace returns two of its four multi-goal scorers from 2017, including team-leader Victoria Kealy (Nutley, NJ/Nutley). The senior found the back of the net seven times last season, tied for the fifth-most scores in the NE10. She is joined by Mackenzie Kurek (Goshen, NY/Goshen Central) on the attack, who scored three times in her freshman season. Gabby Lucas (Beacon, NY/Beacon), who led Pace with four assists last year, also looks to be a factor in the Setter offense in her sophomore campaign. Filling the Backline Pace boasted a 1.08 goals-against average in 2017, good for sixth-best in the NE10. With the Setters losing Ribadeneyra and Erin Bigger (New Milford, NJ/New Milford) to graduation, Annabella Campagna (Monroe, NY/Monroe-Woodbury), Amanda Duddy (Farmingdale, NY/Farmingdale) and Shannon Glenn (New Hampton, NY/Goshen) will look to keep the stout defense intact. They are joined by junior Marta Sadornil(Madrid, Spain/Colegio Montserrat), who comes to Pace following two seasons at Bridgeport, and freshman Emma Turcotte (Howell, NJ/Howell). New-Look Netminders The Blue and Gold will have a fresh face in goal for 2018 as well following the graduations of Pascoal and Aisha Chauhan (Carteret, NJ/Carteret). Senior Morgan Jones (Southbury, CT/Pomperaug), who was previously on the team in 2015, is the lone upperclassman in the Pace goalie squad. Joining her are freshmen Jade Mallea (Miami, Fla./Coral Gables) and Gianna Gonzalez (Voorhees, NJ/Eastern Regional). Welcome Home The Setters kick off the year with three straight non-conference matchups at Pace Stadium. The season-opener will see Pace square off against Post University on Aug. 30 at 5 p.m. before Georgian Court (Sep. 1) and NYIT (Sep. 4) also make their way to Pleasantville. The Blue and Gold are a combined 6-1-1 all-time against their first three opponents. Late Season Challenges Pace's schedule concludes with four of the final five games against 2017 NE10 Conference Tournament teams. With postseason implications likely being up for grabs in the final leg of the schedule, the Setters will go toe-to-toe with some of the NE10's best to close out the season. Home Promotions The Setters, who were 5-1-1 at Pace Stadium last season, will have a trio of promotions for the 2018 home slate. Sept. 4 – Blue-Out T-Shirt Giveaway (vs. NYIT) Sept. 29 – Pace Goes Pink (vs. Merrimack) Oct. 6 – Senior Day (vs. Saint Michael's)