The St. Thomas Aquinas Women’s Lacrosse team hosted its annual kick-off dinner on campus Friday evening. The night was a tremendous success, drawing well over 150 guests; including alumni, coaches, college administrators, parents, families and friends of the program.
The team began the night by honoring former player Anne Buttafuoco with the Spartan Pride Award Award. Buttafuoco, a graduate of St. Thomas Aquinas College (Class of 2012) and a former recruit for the Women’s Lacrosse team, was an integral part of the program’s rise to a legitimate East Coast Conference Championship contender.
Master of Ceremonies and Voice of the Spartans, Brad Sarno, introduced the 2017 squad, which sees 12 members of the 2016 team return. New faces Maya LaFleur, Emma Pfleging, Danielle Heady, Jennifer Farrell, Kaitlyn Gutenberger, Gabrielle Di Fusco, Erin Sleurs, Angela Costanzo and Alyssa DeSimone round out Head Coach Stephanie Hopkins' group. Two new Assistant Coaches, Kaitlyn Lonergan (Class of 2016) and Terese Buechli will also roam the sidelines for St. Thomas Aquinas come opening day.
Speeches by players Abby Fitzgerald, Rosa Prestano and Katherine Borriello gave those in attendance an inside look at the 2017 Spartan Women’s Lacrosse team, both on and off the field. Additionally, those in attendance were treated to a trivia contest, along with assorted prize raffles.
The St. Thomas Aquinas Women’s Lacrosse team will open the 2017 season on Friday, February 24th at Southern Connecticut State University, with a 6pm match-up against the Owls. The home opener at Spartan Field will take place two days later on Sunday, February 26th when the University of Indianapolis pays a visit to Sparkill. Opening draw is set for 11am.
The Spartans are coming off of a 10-7 (5-3) ECC season and the expectations set forth by both players and coaches is a return to the East Coast Conference playoffs, after a one year hiatus, among other goals set by the team.