Philadelphia, Pa. - (2/21/2019) – Chestnut Hill College looks to a new class of Griffins to lead them to their third Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Championship appearance in the last four seasons as they fill the voids left by a 2018 class that included a pair of 100-goal scorers in Julia Galantich '18 and Hunter Leckonby '18. "All our senior will be missed," stated Head Coach Kate Scattergood, "But we have players ready to fill the void and pick up the pieces. There will be new faces in some places. Our defense gained some valuable experience last year and we have a proven keeper in net. We will be very competitive in every conference contest and we look forward to another chance at the league title."
 
Senior captains, Julia Reinert (Bridgeport, Pa.), Rita Lynn Trainer (Conshohocken, Pa.), and Kaitlin Iavecchia (Philadelphia, Pa.) are charged with leading a deep Chestnut Hill College roster that also includes All-CACC First Team defender Kaley Malampy (Ridley Park, Pa.) and a healthy junior class. Reinert was the third Griffin to reach 100 career goals in 2018, reaching the milestone en route to a 65-point (49 goals, 16 points) season that came with 50 ground balls, 41 draws, and 22 caused turnovers. "Julia is a great athlete, she is a true scoring talent," commented Scattergood, "I expect another amazing season from her." Trainer and fellow senior Macailagh Smith (Red Bank, N.J.), will play larger roles on attack; the former offered 15 points (8 goals, 7 assists) and 28 ground balls in 2018, while the latter netted 13 points (11 goals, 2 assists) as a solid two-way player. Additional attackers include junior Haley Norwillo (Duryea, Pa.), junior Dai Pearson (Pottstown, Pa.), and sophomore Alyssa Kuykendall (Dillsburg, Pa.). Norwillo and Pearson are just part of a significant junior class. Norwillo offered 22 points (13 goals, 9 assists), 39 ground balls, and 10 caused turnovers last season, while Pearson recorded 14 points (13 goals, 1 assist), 11 ground balls, and five caused turnovers.
 
Their fellow juniors, Spencer Fitzgerald (Huntingtown, Md.) and Mary Kroppe (Wyomissing, Pa.) will captain a midfield unit that also includes sophomore Angela Faraglia (Clifton Heights, Pa.) and freshman Alyssa Fournier (Sanford, Fla.). Fitzgerald was one of four Griffins with 40 goals or more in 2018, totaling 42 en route to a 48-point (6 assists) season. She also recorded 34 ground balls, 29 draws, and 19 caused turnovers. Meanwhile, Kroppe gave a balanced effort in the offensive end with 12 goals and 13 assists (25 points). She will take on the responsibility of the draw for the Griffins in 2019 after totaling 49 draws and 50 ground balls last year.

Malampy enjoyed a breakout season while serving as the cornerstone of a Scarlet and Gold defense that ranked fourth in the CACC for goals against (242), third in goals-against-average (GAA, 12.74), second in caused turnovers (210) and saves (195), and first in clears (289-of-410, .705), ground balls (529), clears (289-for-410, .705), and save percentage (.446). Personally, she ranked second in the CACC for caused turnovers with 42 - a season total that ranks first all-time at Chestnut Hill College – and corralled 57 ground balls. Iavecchia also brings leadership and experience to the Griffins' defensive unit that also includes senior Kayla Czernik (Aston, Pa.), senior Sabrina Castano (Paterson, N.J.), junior Alexandra McCown (Scarborough, Maine), as well as sophomores Lily Corrigan (Bristol, Pa.) and Gab Fanfarillo (Glassboro, N.J.). Czernik and McCown will take on larger roles in 2018, joining Malampy and Iavecchia as backfield starters. They all serve as support staff for senior Valeria Amaya (Oakland, Calif), who enters her second season as the Scarlet and Gold's starting goalkeeper. She finished 2018 with a 9-6 record, while recording 121 saves on a 12.95 GAA and a .448 save percentage. Scattergood has a lot of confidence in her net minder, "V came a long way last year. I expect her to continue to improve and provide plenty of big saves over course of the season."
 
Chestnut Hill College opens the 2019 season this Saturday, February 23, with a 12:00 p.m. contest at Seton Hill University.