Albany, NY — The Sage Colleges' department of athletics announced the recipients of the department's annual awards. The department selected sophomore women's soccer player, Natalie Ricci (Cohoes, NY/Cohoes) as the 2019-2020 Co-Rookie Female Athlete of the Year.

Head Women's Soccer Coach Garrett Cobb noted, "Natalie was an immediate threat and made our team lethal in attack." He added, "She is a pure finisher and helped us close out games.  When she is on the field our team is immediately at the next level.  I'm excited to see what Natalie can accomplish in her time as a Gator."

Sage's forward Ricci earned a selection to the Empire 8 First Team after leading the Gators with her 25 points on 10 goals with five assists. She had two game-winning goals along the way and was also two citations as the Empire 8 Offensive Player of the Week. Along the way in 2019, Ricci added a number of impressive single-game performances. Her 3 goals in the Gators' contest with Alfred ranks tied for second at Sage in single-game records, while her 3 assists against Elmira ranks second as well. She finished with 7 points against Elmira this fall, which is tied for third best in single-game scoring marks.