Marist College women’s soccer unveils 8-player recruiting class

POUGHKEEPSIE, New York – The Marist College women’s soccer program has added eight newcomers ahead of the Fall 2021 season, Head Coach Brittany Kolmel announced.

The incoming class features six freshmen and two transfer student-athletes. Five of the recruits hail from New York, including three from the Hudson River Valley. Two new Red Foxes arrive from Connecticut, while one comes from New Jersey.

“As we officially welcome the incoming class, I am looking forward to not only the talent each of them will add, but the positive impacts they will make on our team, Marist Athletics and the College,” mentioned Kolmel. “We are all anxious to get back on the field and couldn’t be more excited with the addition of the eight young women we are adding to our Red Fox family.

Graduation: 2020

Grace DiVincenzo returns to the Hudson Valley following a year at UConn. She did not see any game action during the Huskies’ spring season.
Prior to the start of her collegiate career, DiVincenzo was a 2020 All-American and two-time All-Section I outside forward.
She was a team captain her senior year, leading Mahopac to a 16-4 record while posting 22 goals and six assists. She was named Journal News/lohud Player of the Week three times.
DiVincenzo earned a spot on the 2019 NYSSCOGS Class AA All-State Fifth Team as well.
She played club soccer with Quickstrike FC, and helped lead her team to a 2019 NYCSL NPL championship and 2018 Jefferson Cup Showcase championship. The program was a two-time U.S. Club NPL National semifinalist, including a finalist in 2018.

Graduation: 2021

As a center back, Taylor Gambardella was a four-year varsity starter and a team captain.
In 2020, she was a Gametime CT First Team All-State, Class L All-State, and SCC First Team selection, helping a defensive unit post nine shutouts en route to a SCC Division championship.
She was also named a New Haven Register All-Area honoree and Gametime CT Player to Watch.
That year followed a Class L state title for Guilford in 2019, where team co-MVP Gambardella (along with her sister, Madison) helped lead her squad to 15 shutouts on the year.
Gambardella, who was also a starter for the CFC United ECNL club team, plans to major in Biology at Marist, with aspirations of becoming a Physician Assistant.

Graduation: 2021

No stranger to the Hudson Valley, Grace Hennig stays in the area following a career where she totaled 82 goals and 21 assists throughout her four seasons on the varsity team.
Playing in the spring of 2021, she was the Poughkeepsie Journal‘s Co-Player of the Year, leading the Raiders with 10 goals and an assist for a 9-0-1 record and a spot in the Section IX Class A title game.
In addition to four years as an All-Section IX and All-Class A honoree, she earned First Team All-State accolades in 2021, a boost from her Sixth Team selection in 2019.
At the club level, Hennig played on Quickstrike FC from 2016-21.
Originally growing up in Lindenhurst, NY, Hennig plans to major in Biomedical Sciences at Marist, with aspirations of becoming a Physician Assistant.

Graduation: 2021

Christina Layden arrives to Marist following standout season with Union Catholic, where she led the team with 17 goals and added seven assists.
This past season, the Vikings went 8-4-2, as Layden scored two goals in five games and one in 10 of the team’s 14 games.
In her career, she scored 33 goals, and was a Union County Conference First Team selection in 2019 and 2020.
At the club level, Layden played with FC Copa Academy, the same organization as rising junior Kayla Flynn.
She also earned a spot on New Jersey’s Olympic Development Program. In 2017, she made the ODP East Regional Team, then was invited to the National Training Camp in January of 2018.

Graduation: 2021

Bella Lazzaro reunites with high school teammate Melina Serrao, who is a rising junior for the Red Foxes.
Lazzaro was part of a back line that posted five clean sheets, and allowed one goal or less in nine of 13 games, in the spring of 2021.
Ahead of that season, Newsday listed Lazzaro as one of the top 100 Long Island girls soccer for 2021. She was named an All-Class A athlete in 2019 and 2021.
Lazzaro was part of the New York Surf Academy 03 club team, playing with class member Lauryn Schmidt.
She has an older brother, Jake, who is a rising redshirt sophomore on the St. John’s baseball team. She also plans to major in Psychology, and aspires to concentrate in orthopedics as a Physician Assistant.

Graduation: 2017

Deanna Lomino arrives to Poughkeepsie after four years at MAAC-rival Siena. She will use her one year of remaining eligibility that was granted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Across 68 career appearances for the Saints, Lomino started in 53, playing almost 5,000 minutes while racking up three goals and 12 assists.
In the Spring 2021 season, she notched five assists, including three against Iona, to help guide Siena to a MAAC title and an NCAA Tournament appearance.
Off the field, she was a three-time MAAC All-Academic Team selection, earning the Academic Excellence and Outstanding Academic Athlete awards while being a member of the 4.0 Club.
Before Siena, she was a three-time All-Section and All-League honoree at John Jay. The Poughkeepsie Journal chose her for their First Team in 2016.

Graduation: 2021

Another Long Islander, Lauryn Schmidt was a two-time team captain and three-time MVP in her four years as a varsity starter, capping her career as a 2020-21 United Soccer Coaches All-American.
Following her 10 goals and two assists for an 11-3 West Islip program, she was named the Suffolk County Class AA Player of the Year and League IV Player of the Year, earning spots on Newsday‘s All-Long Island team and Top 100 Long Islanders as well.
In 2019, she helped lead West Islip to a Suffolk County Class AA championship.
Throughout her career, she was a two-time All-State and three-time All-County, All-Conference, and All-League selection.
Schmidt was teammates with fellow Class of 2025 recruit Bella Lazzaro on the New York Surf Academy 03 squad.

Graduation: 2021

Across her four-year career, Autumn Smith registered 43 goals and 57 assists, culminating in a United Soccer Coaches All-American honor in 2020.
In her senior year, she totaled six goals and 10 assists for the Wreckers, who were the FCIAC Central Division co-champions.
Smith was also a two-time All-New England and four-time All-State and All-FCIAC selection.
Similar to fellow Connecticut native Taylor Gambardella, Gametime CT recognized Smith on the 2020 All-State First Team.
The two were also teammates for the Connecticut Football Club at the ECNL level.