It took head coach
Steve Karbowski 12 years to capture his first MAAC Championship, but the MAAC coaches think his second one might be just around the corner. Siena is the preseason favorite in the
MAAC Preseason Coaches' Poll, released Thursday afternoon by the league office.
Seniors Shannon Clancy (Walden, N.Y.) and Lindsay Tegas (Ontario, N.Y.) were selected to the Preseason All-MAAC Team.
Clancy, a captain, was named to the MAAC Second Team at back each of the last two seasons. She anchored a Siena defense that led the MAAC with 0.94 goals allowed last season.
Tegas was named to the All-Rookie Team as a freshman, and the MAAC Second Team and MAAC All-Academic Team as a sophomore and junior. She ranked ninth in the MAAC with 16 points (six goals and four assists) last year, played in all 21 games and made 18 starts.
On the heels of an historic season that saw the program reach its first NCAA Tournament and garner its first national ranking, the buzz surrounding the Saints is at a fever pitch. The Saints were listed 59th in the TopDrawerSoccer.com Preseason Top-64, released earlier this week.
Siena returns more than half of last year's starters - including four of the top five scorers - and 17 letterwinners return as well as five All-MAAC performers from the team's 2010 team which finished 17-4 and captured its first MAAC title.
Siena finished with 92 points in the MAAC Preseason Coaches' poll, three points ahead of 2010 regular season champion Canisius College (89). Fairfield University was picked third with 70 points, and Loyola University Maryland finished in fourth place with 66 points. Marist College placed fifth (63), followed by Rider University (56), Niagara University (51), Manhattan College (29), Iona College (23), and Saint Peter's College (11).
Canisius' Kelly Reinwald has been named the 2011 MAAC Preseason Player of the Year. Reinwald, the 2010 MAAC Co-Offensive Player of the Year, recorded 11 goals and 12 assists for 34 points last season for the Golden Griffins.
Joining Reinwald at forward are fellow Griff Brianna Smith and Nichole Schiro from Loyola. The midfielders are Jenny Griffin from Canisius, Rycke Guiney from Marist and Tegas. The backs are anchored by Carly Beyar from Fairfield, Jessica Arabia from Marist, Jennifer Kimoto from Niagara, Becca Kape from Rider and Clancy. For the third consecutive year, Fairfield's Kelly Boudreau rounds out the team at the goalkeeper position.
Siena opens its season at home August 19 against Stony Brook at 2 p.m.
