RIVERDALE, N.Y. - The Manhattan women's lacrosse program will welcome eight freshmen to the team for the 2013 season. Second-year head coach Diane Haddeland announced the additions, including two high school All-Americans on Thursday afternoon.
"We brought in a lot of speed and size to the team this year," said Haddeland. "I can't say enough about this group. Each player has a role on our team and I'm very excited to see how they can contribute early."
Highlighting the newcomers are Megan Yarusso (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster) and Stefanie Ranagan (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown). Yarusso joins Manhattan after a five-year career at Brewster High School where she also played soccer and participated in gymnastics. During her senior year, Yarusso received many accolades including being named an All-American.
Sharing the honors with Yarusso, Ranagan earned First Team distinction in the Hudson Valley Region after just three years on the varsity girls' lacrosse team. An attacker, Ranagan comes from a strong lacrosse family, as her brother John is a member of the Johns Hopkins men's lacrosse team.
Also beginning their careers in Riverdale this spring are Kaitlyn Cunningham, Virginia Rose Kaschura, Marissa Acosta, Casey Silvestri, Claire Roediger, and Victoria Doyle.
Cunningham (Spring Lake, N.J./Red Bank Catholic) helped lead her high school squad to the New Jersey State Section II State Championship as well as being named an All-Shore player twice in her career.
Adding to the goalkeeping unit, Kaschura (White Plains, N.Y./Brewster) was a three-sport athlete in high school, playing volleyball and basketball. In her junior season, she was named an All-League player helping the Bears reach the Section 1 Class B semifinals.
Also joining the defensive core is Acosta (Kinnelon, N.J./Kinnelon), who was a four-year varsity player, earning Second-Team All-League honors as a senior. Silvestri (Pomona, N.Y./Albertus Magnus) will look to add some offensive firepower after a stellar high school career. The 5'6" attacker was a four-time All-League player and graduated as the school's all-time scoring leader.
Roediger (Katonah, N.Y./Somers) is another three-sport athlete, participating in both cross country and winter track in high school. On the lacrosse field, she earned All-League honors in two of her three years on the team.
Doyle (Danbury, Conn./Danbury) led the Hatters to both a conference and state championship as a junior while also earning FCIAC Honorable Mention for herself as a senior.
This recruiting class will join a Manhattan program that returns 15 players from their 2012 season, including All-MAAC Rookie Team selections Donna Jo DiNorcia, Domenica O'Brey and Christina Fiorinelli.
