Gamarra named Skyline Coach of the Year; Mason, Retell and Waddingham all honored

Gamarra named Skyline Coach of the Year; Mason, Retell and Waddingham all honored

Link to Skyline Conference Complete All-Star Release

New York, NY – Sage's women's soccer team was recognized for their outstanding play thus far on the 2014 season with the release of the 2014 Skyline Conference Women's Soccer All-Conference Teams on Monday. Rookie head coach Andrew Gamarra was named the Skyline Conference Women's Soccer Coach of the Year, while three Gators were placed on the Skyline First and Second Team.

The 2014 Gators stand at 11-4-2 on the year and are under the direction of Gamarra, who led his charges to a 6-2 record in Skyline play this fall. A 2010 graduate of Carthage College, Gamarra and the 2014 Gators are poised to make his first campaign a very memorable one. Sage earned the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament and hosted the program's first Skyline Conference post-season contest on November 1. The Gators earned the win and moved into the semifinals for just the second time in Sage's tenure in the Skyline Conference. The 11-win campaign for Gamarra and his Gators also ties the mark for most wins in a season, a feat first achieved in 2003, when then Russell Sage College went 11-6-2.

Earning Skyline Conference First-Team acclaim is midfielder Savannah Mason (Wynantskill, NY/Averill Park), a first for the sophomore, while senior goalie keeper Teagan Waddingham (Coeymans Hollow, NY/Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk) and rookie defender Jenna Retell (Schaghticoke, NY/Burnt Hills Ballston Lake) were both placed on the second team.

Mason leads the Gators with her 34 points on 15 goals and four assists, while connecting for a team-best four game-winning goals on the campaign. Earlier this season, she broke the program's single-game scoring mark with her four goals in the team's 4-3 win over SUNY-Old Westbury on October 4, a feat that was later matched by a teammate this season.

Waddingham, a three-year starter in goal for the Gators is enjoying a personal-best season as well. She owns a 10-4-2 record in goal with a 1.71 goals against average and a .776 saves percentage in 16 starts. She continues to make her record book climb at Sage as she has 305 career saves, which is No. 4. She has also started 47 games in net and is No. 2 all-time in goalie starts. She has also amassed 4,205 career minutes in goal and is No. 3 in the category. Earlier this season, she started in goal for the Gators in a 13-0 win over Sarah Lawrence and by game's end, had tallied a goal for the Gators' offense, which has outscored their opponents 58-28. 

Retell has nine points on the year on three goals and three assists. She has also been clutch for the Gators with a pair of penalty kick goals and has helped anchor a defense that has yielded just 28 goals, good enough for a 1.60 goals against average on the season.

The Gators will be back in action on November 5 travelling to No. 2 seeded Mt. St. Mary College (NY) for a 5 p.m. contest with the Knights in the Skyline Conference Semifinals. The winner advances to the championship contest on November 8 in conjunction with the 2014 Skyline Conference Fall Festival at Purchase College (Purchase, NY). The women's finals will take place at 11:00 a.m. and the men's finals will follow at 1:30 p.m.

Since joining the Skyline Conference in 2007, Sage has appeared in the conference tournament seven times out of eight years. Prior to this past weekend's Skyline victory, the Gators had recorded just one win in that time span. The first win was in 2009 as Sage beat Mt. St. Mary College, 1-0 to advance in the conference tournament.