POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - In preparation for the 2012 season, Marist head women's soccer coach Kate Lyn announced that seniors Jessica Arabia (Naperville, Ill.), Chelsea Botta (East Longmeadow, Mass.) and Melanie Rigo (Huntington, N.Y.) have been named team captains.
"We have a diverse group of leaders this season. Between Chelsea the communicator, Jessica the performer, and Melanie the tone setter, we have a lot of game experience between the three. They have solidified our defensive line for majority of the season last year, and I am confident that these women will maintain the standard we need to win the MAAC and compete in the NCAA Tournament."
Botta is a second-year captain, who returns following a successful junior campaign in which she provided leadership for the first-ever MAAC Women's Soccer Championship winning team at Marist College. A Second Team All-MAAC selection in 2011, she started all 21 games for the Red Foxes, netting a goal and two assists. An outside marking back the majority of the season, she was part of a defense that had seven shutouts on the year. In the classroom, Botta was the recipient of a 2011 CoSIDA/Capital One First Team Academic All-District nod and is a two-time MAAC All-Academic honoree.
A two-time First Team All-MAAC award winner, Arabia will join Botta as leaders on the defensive side of the ball. Appearing in all 61 games of her career at Marist, she provides speed and length as an outside marking back. During the 2011 season, Arabia and the Red Fox defense helped goalkeeper Caitlin Landsman set the single-season all-time goals against average at 0.94. On offense, she notched three assists last season and has tallied eight total points during her first three years as a Red Fox.
The third captain chosen by Lyn to lead the team in 2012 is Rigo. A versatile option as both a midfielder and defender, she appeared in all 21 games for the Red Foxes during their NCAA run in 2011. She recorded her lone assist of 2011 in dramatic fashion as she fed Amanda Epstein in the 93rd minute in Marist's walk-off overtime win at Siena on Oct. 29. A strong student as well, Rigo earned recognition on the MAAC All-Academic Team as a junior.
The Red Foxes are in the midst of their preseason workouts and will kick off their regular season on Tuesday, August 21 versus Wagner.
