Women's soccer season preview: Midfield
SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Led by the return of seniors Hannah Crofut (East Amherst, N.Y.) and Haley Reddish (Natick, Mass.), the Bryant University women's soccer team will feature an experienced and skilled midfield this fall.
This is the second part of a three-part season preview for the Bryant women's soccer team. BryantBulldogs.com previewed the forwards on Monday and will look at the defense on Wednesday.
With the veteran leadership of Crofut and Reddish, the Bulldog midfield unit could be one of the best units in the Northeast Conference. The group also includes a trio of experienced juniors, three sophomores, and two freshmen.
"We're very happy with the two-way effort of our midfield group has provided throughout the preseason," Biggs said. "They're very committed in defense, pressing with the forwards and also tracking back to connect with our backs when necessary. In attack, they're focused on finding good positions to help us maintain possession while also take advantage of opportunities to run forward to create scoring opportunities."
Crofut returns for her fifth year after earning All-NEC Second Team honors last fall. A lockdown defender that never strays from a challenge, Crofut also possesses great vision and a knack for goal. She helped the Black and Gold post seven clean sheets and also contributed three assists.
Bryant's biggest offensive threat a season ago, Reddish is back for her final season after posting a team-leading nine points (3G, 3A) in 2016. Reddish proved her play-making ability last season and is poised for another outstanding year this fall.
The Black and Gold will also benefit from the experienced trio of Alison Guilmette (Coventry, R.I.), Alex Ralph (Peterborough, Ont.) and Alex Spangler (Acton, Mass.). Guilmette, who will also see time at forward, posted two goals and two assists last fall. Ralph and Spangler are both former NEC All-Rookie selections and bring a great deal of experience to the field. Ralph will look to put an injury-riddled sophomore season behind her this season, while Spangler has appeared in all but two games in her first two seasons.
Marissa Grasso (Shelton, Conn.), Caitlyn Linden (Newtown, Conn.) and Kelly Morrissey (Hingham, Mass.) make up Bryant's sophomore midfielders. Grasso and Linden both enjoyed solid rookie campaigns in 2016, making 15 starts each in the midfield. Morrissey came on at the end of the year, appearing in four of the final six matches.
Bryant is also excited about its freshmen midfielders, Kylie Ratelle (Chicopee, Mass.) and Arin Smalls (Marlborough, Mass.). Ratelle was a four-time all-league selection, finishing her career with 43 goals and 29 assists, while Smalls was a three-time team MVP and helped her club team to a pair of National Cup finals appearances.