CANTON -- The SUNY Canton women’s soccer team finished with 10 wins in 2009 and advanced to the championship game of the Sunrise Conference tournament. 

Second-year head coach Kate Thomas-Moody will look to build on that success this year and she feels with the depth and talent the team has those goals can be accomplished.

“We’ve brought in a large class with only eight returning players,” said Thomas-Moody.  “Our talent is much greater this year and our technical skill and abilities have improved.  We’re also much deeper and every player will have to battle for every position.”

Leading the offensive will be a pair of talented sophomore forwards in Kirsten Morley (Ogdensburg) and Angie Waryasz (Lowville).  The finished 1-2 in scoring on the team and both made the all-Sunrise Conference Team. 

Morley was also named the conference’s Rookie of the Year and was named the NAIA Player of the Week in September.  Morley notched a team high 33 points on 14 goals and five assists and Waryasz had 29 points on 10 goals and a team-high nine assists.

“Their combination up front will be a huge asset,” said Thomas-Moody.  “They work very well together and are very athletic players.”

Sophomore Bailey Allen (Adams) and freshman Kaitlyn Hart (Harrisville) will also see time on the front line.  Allen, a transfer, was an all-star at Belleville Henderson and Hart an all-Northern at Harrisville Central School.

Leading the midfield unit will be junior Emily Bush (Ogdensburg).  Bush, a Sunrise Conference Scholar Athlete, had one goal last year rotating between midfield and defense.

Joining Bush at midfield will be returning sophomores Jackie Sedlacek (Endicott, N.Y.) and Kirsten Skelly (Brier Hill) and freshmen Gina Campoverde (New York), Jamie Gravelding (Clinton), and Carissa Clark (Georgetown) and sophomore Danielle DeCelles (Lisbon). 

Sedlacek also rotated between defense and midfield and had one assist and Skelly added one goal and one assist.

Campoverde is a very smart and strong player who has the ability to take shots from anywhere on the field.  Gravelding played at Clinton High School, Clark was an all-star at DeRuyter High School and DeCelles was an all-Northern at Lisbon Central School.

Leading the backline will be senior Teresa Morley (Ogdensburg) and sophomore Chelsea Allen (Marcellus).  Morley last played for SUNY Canton in 2008 and was an all-Sunrise Conference selection on defense.  Allen played in all 19 games last year as a freshman as an outside defender and contributed three goals and two assists for eight points.

Joining those two on defense are freshmen twin sisters Molly and Shannon O’Connor from Gansevoort.  Both were all-star soccer players at Schuylerville Central School.  Also new to the team on defense are transfer and sophomore Stephanie Clark (Natick, Mass.) and sophomore Megan Palermo (Rochester).

Thomas-Moody will have three goalies battling for time this season which will be another key to the season.  Senior Aubrey Parrish (Greene) has plenty of experience in goal as she played in 16 games as a junior and had a 2.5 goals-against average and a .705 save percentage with two shutouts.  Transfer sophomore from SUNY Plattsburgh Ricci Celia (Essex Junction, Vt.) had three shutouts in 10 games last year with a 0.99 goals-against average with the Cardinals.  She had good technical ability and is a strong communicator.  Holli-Jo Cota (Ogdensburg), an all-Northern at Ogdensburg Free Academy, will also challenge for playing time.

“We’re definitely going to be more competitive than last year and we really want to improve on our record and improve on our results,” said Thomas-Moody.  “Getting my first recruiting class in has been a lot of work but it’s rewarding seeing them here, seeing what they’re capable of, and seeing them work together to try and achieve our goals.”