No. 10 Ranked Smithtown West Bulls Team Preview

Getting down to the final 10 in the LILJ top 25 preseason rankings it’s the Smithtown West Bulls coming in at number 10. In Suffolk Class B this is a team that has developed into a major contender the last few years with back-to-back appearances in the county championship game, but are still looking to get over the hump and capture the county title and appear in the Long Island Championship. Coaching the team in her third season is Vincenza Patrone and the team sees the return of a number of players that are upperclassmen that will be instrumental in their success as they aim to be this year’s county champions.

Their leading scorer from last year Kate Theofield (Rutgers) is back for her senior season, coming off of a 63 goal 8 assist junior year for 71 points. The 63 goals scored was good for the second most in Suffolk County. Also part of their starting attack are juniors Alyssa Lorefice (Rutgers) and Ashley Mennella (UMass), who both enter year three on varsity and have been impact players for the program. Last season Lorefice was a feeding machine with 30 assists as well as 16 goals, and Mennella found the back of the net 36 times with 9 assists. Also among their returning attackers is senior Madison Nuzzi (LaSalle) and juniors Vanessa Pollina (Adelphi) and Sydney Marks. Their returning midfield is headlined by senior JMU commit Jolie Schiavo who scored 45 goals with 5 assists for 50 points. In the junior class Ashlynn Renkowski (Cornell) adds to their starting unit and as a sophomore scored 13 goals with 12 assists and was a big presence on the draw circle. Their talent and depth continues with freshman Molly Hyland who had a breakout first year on varsity with 15 goals and 14 assists for 29 points, and sophomore Kaitlyn Mennella who could be in for an enhanced role this season. As a team their offense averaged over 11 goals per game in 2024 which was the fourth most in the county and a number that will see them win a lot of games if replicated. Smithtown West’s defense returns senior Binghamton commit Grace Theofield and juniors Kaleigh Renkowski the Quinnipiac commit and LIU commit Lola Russo. In the cage entering her fourth year as the starter is junior Maribella Marciano (Lehigh), one of the top goalies on the island in the 2026 class as she recorded 120 saves which was the seventh most in Suffolk County. The Bulls will open up the regular season with a non-league matchup against William Floyd on March 28th, followed by their first league game against Islip on April 1st.