Women's Lacrosse Team Captains Announced

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Bucknell women's lacrosse coach Randall Swope has announced the election of five team captains for the 2016 season. Seniors Ally Furbay and Sam Rickels will join juniors Annie Gilbertson, Maddy Molinari and Lucia Smircich in leadership positions this spring.

Furbay has battled through injuries for much of her career, but she is coming off her most productive season to date. In 2015, Furbay played in all 17 games with five starts, and she registered eight goals and two assists from her midfield position.

"Ally is a complete midfielder," said Swope. "It has been a long road for her, and coming back from her knee issues was a struggle. She has turned that around and become one of our stronger midfielders, and I am very excited to have her as a captain."

Rickels is entering her second year as a team captain, and she is the most experienced player on the roster with 49 career games played under her belt. The senior midfielder has 39 goals and 48 points to her credit thus far, along with 50 ground balls, 45 draw controls and 23 caused turnovers.

"Sam is a very consistent midfielder who makes big contributions at both ends of the field," said Swope. "She has scored some big goals for us, and she really wants to have a big senior year."

Molinari is a two-way midfielder and Bucknell's top returning scorer. She led the team in goals (28) and points (38) while ranking seventh in the Patriot League in shot attempts last season. Molinari had four-goal games against Villanova and Lafayette, and she enters her junior campaign with 41 career goals and 59 points.

"Maddy has worked really hard to become a top-notch midfielder both offensively and defensively," said Swope. "She is our best playmaker in the offensive end, and we will again be looking to her to both score and create goals."

Gilbertson and Smircich are two of the leaders of a Bucknell defensive unit that returns intact this season. Smircich was a Second Team All-Patriot League selection in 2014, and last season she ranked fifth in the Patriot League with 22 caused turnovers while also leading the team with 30 ground balls. Gilbertson was not far behind with 19 ground balls and 13 caused turnovers.

"Lucia is the backbone of our defense," said Swope. "She is the voice of our defense and controls the pace of our defense. Annie is probably our strongest one-on-one crease defender. Rarely to opponents run past her and get off a shot. Lucia and Annie are both very critical to our success this year."

Bucknell opens its season on Feb. 13 at Wagner at 4 p.m., with the home opener slated for Feb. 17 against Delaware State at 5 p.m.