Hempstead, NY - Following two consecutive appearances in the Colonial Athletic Association championship, including a trip to the finals in 2013, the Hofstra Women's Lacrosse team is poised to take that next step in 2015.

Third-year Head Coach Shannon Smith has a formidable core of returning players and welcomes an equally-talented recruiting class that should hit the ground running and fill several open spots in the Hofstra lineup.

Leading the group of returning players are preseason Inside Lacrosse All-American April Iannetta, who was the 2014 CAA Defensive Player of the Year, as well as All-CAA goalkeeper Kelsey Gregerson. The Pride attack features the return of leading scorer and All-CAA selection Brittain Altomare. 

Here is a position-by-position look at the 2015 Pride:

Attack
Altomare has led the Pride in scoring in each of her three seasons, and is coming off a season that saw her post 30 goals and a school record 36 assists. She set the school mark for the second time in as many years and led the conference in assists for the second consecutive season. In addition to her scoring prowess, Altomare is counted on to help in other areas as her 62 draw controls and 21 ground balls were second and third, respectively, on the team in 2014.

Joining Altomare on the Hofstra attack is sophomore Tiana Parrella, who played in 14 games as a freshman. Parrella scored nine goals in her first season in a Hofstra uniform and will be looked upon to increase that total in 2015. Classmate Morgan Knox is another sophomore that Coach Smith is counting on this season. As a freshman, Knox played in seven games and had one goal. 

Seniors Sam Lenox and Kaitlin Ayres return and will provide experience and veteran leadership to the position. Lenox started all 18 games in 2014 and was third on the team in scoring with 17 points on 16 goals and one assist. Ayres appeared in one game and tallied one goal.

Four newcomers to the team – freshmen Drew Shapiro, Zoe Gomez and Samantha Torrico and junior Taylor Tabel – will also have the opportunity to carve out playing time on the Hofstra attack. 

Shapiro was a four-time All-New Hampshire selection at Bedford High School and scored a state record 342 goals during her scholastic career.  Gomez was an Under Armour All-American as a senior after tallying 79 goals and 15 assists at Wissahickon High School in Pennsylvania. Torrico joins the Pride from Ward Melville High School on Long Island where she posted 17 goals and eight assists as a senior. Tabel played scholastically at Cortland Junior-Senior High School where she was a four-sport athlete. 

Midfield
The Hofstra midfield will be the least experienced segment of the team as juniors Lindsay Alfano and Becky Conto are the lone returnees.

Alfano played in 17 games last season and has played in 36 contests during her first two seasons. She posted five goals and one assist in 2014 and also added 11 ground balls, eight caused turnovers and six draw controls. Conto, who was the CAA Rookie of the Year in 2013 after tallying 16 goals, missed all but four games due to injury last season. In her limited time, Conto did score two goals and added two assists. She also had eight draw controls. A healthy Conto gives the Pride another proven offensive threat that will alleviate pressure from Altomare, who scored 20-percent of the Pride's goals in 2014. 

Newcomers Carlee Ancona, Amanda Seekamp, Elena Schorr, Shea McAvoy and Jessica Geiersbach will also look to make a mark on the midfield unit. Ancona was a five-year member of the East Islip (NY) lacrosse team and was an All-Suffolk County performer. Seekamp also played lacrosse for five years in high school and was a two-time All-Suffolk County selection at East Hampton High School. She also led the county in assists as a junior. Schorr comes to Hofstra from Medina High School in Ohio where she was a member of two state championship teams. McAvoy played scholastically at Ward Melville High School on Long Island and was an all-division pick as a senior. Geiersbach earned All-Suffolk County accolades three times as a member of the lacrosse team at West Babylon (NY) High School.

Defense
Iannetta, a two-time league defensive player of the year, returns to anchor an experienced back line that features classmate Abby Wilson and junior Shelby Milne. Iannetta played in all 18 games and led the team with 64 draw controls, and 26 caused turnovers. She also added 34 ground balls to go along with 12 goals and four assists. 

Wilson started all 18 games and 17 ground balls and 19 draw controls. Milne, who was a CAA All-Rookie selection in 2013, started 10 of 16 games and posted 13 ground balls and 10 caused turnovers. 

The trio of returnees will be pushed by sophomore Audrey Byrd and freshman Grayson Corbett. Byrd was a member of the team in 2014, but did not see any game action. Corbett was a two-time All-Howard County first team selection at Wilde Lake High School in Maryland. An offensive player in high school who scored 277 career goals, she will be shifting to the defensive end as a collegian. 

Goalkeeper
Gregerson has become one of the top keepers in the country and will look to improve on her league-best 7.93 goals against average and .500 save percentage from 2014. She ranked fourth in the nation in save percentage and was eighth in goals against average. 

Sophomore Alexis Greene, who saw action in one game last season, will once again serve as the understudy to Gregerson. In her one appearance, Greene made two saves in just more than 11 minutes of action. 

Schedule
The Pride will face a formidable schedule in 2015 as five of their 16 opponents – Maryland, Johns Hopkins, Ohio State, Towson and Stony Brook – advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2014. In addition, nine of the teams on the schedule won at least 10 games a season ago.

The highlight of the schedule will be a visit to Hempstead from defending National Champion Maryland on February 28. The Terps captured their 12th national title last May with a 15-12 victory over Syracuse. 

The Pride will also travel to Columbus, Ohio, for a meeting with Ohio State and will host both Johns Hopkins and Stony Brook. When Johns Hopkins visits Hofstra on March 8 it will be the first trip to Hempstead for the Blue Jays since the two squads faced each other in the 2007 NCAA Tournament at James M. Shuart Stadium. The Stony Brook contest will be the first meeting between the schools since a 17-7 Hofstra victory in 2010. The Seawolves are coming off a 17-win season and a trip to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.