LOWELL, Mass. – UMass Lowell women's soccer head coach
Mira Novak has announced the addition of eight players to the 2023 roster.
The group includes six freshmen hailing from four states and two transfer students. The River Hawks welcome players from Germany and Spain as well as players from Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and New York.
"I am thrilled with the class we are bringing in not just from the performance standpoint, but I am excited about the human qualities these incoming student-athletes are bringing in," said head coach
Mira Novak. "I am confident every single one of them will find a way to elevate our team culture as well as our on-field performance, and I can commend our staff for identifying such a strong class."
Meet the Players
Name: Diana Jedrychowski
Hometown/High School: Farmington, Conn. / Farmington
Position: Midfield
Height: 5-8
Club Team: Oakwood Soccer Club
Major/Minor: Biology
HIGH SCHOOL/PREVIOUS CLUB: Played soccer and ran track at Farmington High School…Earned All-American honors her senior year…Two-time All-Conference, All-State and All-New England selection…Member of 2021-22 U17 GA National Championship team…Final Four finalist for U16 GA national championships…National Honor Society member, Spanish Honor Society member…Earned First Honors all four years of high school…Active in the community with 90+ volunteer hours.
PERSONAL: Daughter of Alicia and Mariusz Jedrychowski…Has two sisters, Julia and Victoria…Sister Victoria played four years of soccer at the University of Hartford…Nicknamed Di…Enjoys hiking, playing the cello and cooking…Lists Avatar: The Last Airbender, The 100 and Shadow and Bone as her favorite TV shows…Names Manchester United as her favorite sports team…Names Lionel Messi as her favorite sports figure…Greatest sports memory was winning the U17 National Championship for the Girls Academy League in Missouri in 2022.
NOVAK: "Diana is a warrior that will do anything for the team. We were impressed in the recruitment process not just with her ability on the field but also with her high-level character, and she will make the team better instantly."
Name: Luka Marceau
Hometown/High School: Newton, Mass. / Newton South
Position: Forward
Height: 5-3
Club Team: FC Stars
Major/Minor: English / Marketing
HIGH SCHOOL/PREVIOUS CLUB: Four-year letterwinner at Newton South High School…Played club soccer at FC Stars under coach Shawn McDonough…Member of 2019 MA state cup champions NPL, 2019 NPL league champion, 2019 NPL national champion, 2019 Newton South HS varsity DCL championship teams…2020 Newton South DCL Champion…Member of Newton South MIAA States final four team and FC Stars 2005 ECNL white national playoff finalist team in Seattle…Senior year was named DCL All-Star, All-Conference and EMass Second Team and earned Heart of a Lion award.
PERSONAL: Daughter of Eva and James Marceau…Has two brothers, Blaise and Aleks, who both played soccer at Bates and served as team captains between 2015-2020…Enjoys music and records, movies and photography…Lists The Office, Stranger Things, Euphoria and Big Little Lies as her favorite TV shows…Names the US Women's National Soccer Team as her favorite sports team and Erling Haaland as her favorite sports figure…Her favorite sports memory was making it to the national finals in Seattle with FC Stars club team…English major with a marketing minor.
NOVAK: "Luka has already joined the team for the spring of 2023 and showed early on that she can contribute at this level. She is one of the hardest workers on the field, and someone who takes pride in team success."
Name: Eliana Parreira
Hometown/High School: Chelmsford, Mass. / Chelmsford
Position: Defense
Height: 5-9
Club Team: FC Stars
Major/Minor: Exercise Science
HIGH SCHOOL/PREVIOUS CLUB: Served as captain for Chelmsford High School soccer team senior year…Earned First Team All-Conference and MVP honors…Named First Team All-Conference junior year and Second Team All-Conference sophomore year…Played club soccer at FC Stars Lancaster under coach Jason Dewhurst…Member of the basketball team at Chelmsford HS.
PERSONAL: Daughter of Jennifer and Frank Parreira…Has two brothers, Nate, and Elias, who played soccer at Suffolk University…Nicknamed El…Enjoys cooking, spending time with friends and family and yoga…Names Diners Drive-Ins and Dives as her favorite TV show…Names the Boston Bruins as her favorite sports team…Favorite figures are Alex Morgan and Malala Yousafzai…Names her favorite sports memory was defeating a big rival team 2-1 following the loss of a close friend and teammate in high school…Plans to study exercise science.
NOVAK: "Eliana is a great addition to our team, as her defensive abilities and composure on the ball fit well into what we look for in our defenders. I have high hopes that she can adjust to playing at the college level quickly and have a great career at UMass Lowell."
Name: Marissa Sage
Hometown/High School: Milford, N.H. / Milford
Position: Midfield
Height: 5-6
Club Team: FC Stars
Major/Minor: Undecided
HIGH SCHOOL/PREVIOUS CLUB: Four-year letterwinner at Milford High School…Served as team captain for two years…Nashua Telegraph All-Area selection, second on team in goals scored, Coach's Award Winner and NHIAA Scholar Athlete Award winner senior year…Named All-State second team and NE Soccer Journal ECNL Player to Watch junior year…Named Rookie of the Year in her freshman year and was part of the team that went to the NHIAA Division 2 Final Four…Helped team win NHIAA D2 state title and earned All-State Honorable Mention sophomore year…Member of indoor and outdoor track teams and the tennis team…National Honor Society member two years…FBLA and NH Scholar Athlete.
PERSONAL: Daughter of Wendy Sage-Matsis, stepfather Ken Matsis…Has three stepsisters, Alexandra, who ran cross country at UMass Lowell, Ashleigh, who played soccer for WPI, and Kinsley…Nicknamed Mars…Enjoys tennis, reading, spending time with friends listening to music…Lists Scandal, One Tree Hill and Grey's Anatomy as her favorite shows…Favorite sports teams are the Boston Celtics, St. Louis Cardinals and Washington Spirit…Names Mallory Swanson, Trinity Rodman and Trevor Lawrence as her favorite athletes…Greatest sports memory was qualifying for ECNL playoffs with FC Stars where she played for a national championship…Major undecided.
NOVAK: "Marissa is a versatile midfielder that has gotten better every year since we started tracking her. She is an ultimate team player, and I cannot wait to follow her progress on and off the field here at UMass Lowell."
Name: Franzisca Sinclair
Hometown/High School: Frankfurt am Main, Germany / Helmholtzschule
Position: Defense
Height: 5-8
Club Team: Eintracht Frankfurt
Major/Minor: Biochemistry
HIGH SCHOOL/PREVIOUS CLUB: Played for Eintracht Frankfurt under coaches Carlos Pereira and Andy Arr-You…Served as team captain of Eintracht Frankfurt U17 Team…Member of Eintracht Frankfurt U20 Team that was the top under 20 team in Germany.
PERSONAL: Daughter of Vera and Duncan Sinclair…Has one sister, Nicola…Nicknamed Franzi…Enjoys music and water sports…Lists Sherlock and Luther as her favorite TV shows…Names Borussia Dortmund as her favorite sports team…Favorite sports memory was beating her rival team for first place in the U17 league in 2020…Plans to study biochemistry.
NOVAK: "Franzi is a versatile defender, who can play both centrally and wide. She is very composed on the ball and tough to beat. I look forward to her contribution on and off the field as she is a very mature student-athlete."
Name: Kaitlyn Tung
Hometown/High School: Levittown, N.Y.
Position: Midfield
Height: 5-4
Club Team: SUSA 2005G ECNL
Major/Minor: Digital Media
HIGH SCHOOL: Three-year letterwinner at General Douglas Macarthur High School…Served as team captain senior year…All-County and Newsday second team All-State selection…Led team to Nassau County and Long Island Championships…Helped team go undefeated during regular season with nine goals and six assists…Named All-County honorable mention and led team with nine assists junior year…Named All-Conference, All-New England Conference and led team with eight assists to go with eight goals sophomore year…Won ECNL Showcase Cup A championship sophomore year…Ran the 1500m for the track team and played JV volleyball…National Honor Society member, environmental club member…Earned Principal's Award for outstanding school service…Played club soccer at SUSA 2005G ECNL under coach JR Balzarini.
PERSONAL: Daughter of Jill and Kristopher Tung…Has one sibling, Anders…Cousins Brianna currently plays soccer at Wingate…Cousin Joseph played soccer at Plattsburgh…Nicknamed KT…Enjoys going to the beach and traveling…Names Vampires Diaries as her favorite TV show…Favorite sports figure is Lionel Messi…Names Manchester United as her favorite sports team…Greatest sports memory was scoring the first goal in the 2022 Nassau County finals which became the game-winning goal…Digital media major.
NOVAK: "Kaitlyn is a talented midfielder who loves creating chances in the final third of the field, and I look forward to watching her talent develop further here. She is an excellent student as well, who takes her off-field duties as seriously as her on-field ones."
Name: Laura Cetina Ferńandez
Previous School: Eastern Florida State College
Position: Midfield
Height: 5-4
Class: Junior
Major/Minor: Psychology / Criminology
PREVIOUS SCHOOL: Played two years at Eastern Florida State College…Made 24 starts in 25 games with 18 goals, five assists for 41 career points…Tallied 61 shots and 31 shots on goal in two seasons…Scored five game-winning goals in the 2022-23 campaign…Helped team reach the 2021-22 national tournament for the first time…Named United Soccer Coaches Most Valuable Player of the 2021 NJCAA Division I National Tournament…Scored 38 goals in four years with Victoria C.F. and won the league to be promoted to second division in spain her senior year of high school…Played with the Galicia National Team for three years.
PERSONAL: Daughter of Amalia Fernandez Arcay and Jesús Cetina Mochales…Has one brother, Miguel…Nicknamed Ceti…Enjoys spending time with friends and family, traveling, watching TV and movies…Names La Casa de papel as her favorite TV show…Lists Frankie de Jong, Xavi and Alexia Putellas as her favorite sports figures…Favorite sports memory was winning the NJCAA national tournament at Eastern Florida State College…Speaks English, Spanish and Galician.
NOVAK: "Laura is a technical player who can score and prepare goals. Laura is coming in after winning the national championship and being named the National Player of the Year at the junior college level, and I hope she can add this winning mentality to our performance-driven team."
Name: Hope Santaniello
Previous School: Rhode Island
Position: Forward
Height: 5-6
Class: Junior
Major/Minor: Fine Arts
HIGH SCHOOL/PREVIOUS SCHOOL: Spent two seasons at Rhode Island…Earned Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week honors during her freshman campaign…Made 18 starts in 28 appearances for the Rams…Tallied two goals and four assists for eight points with 20 shots on goal at URI…Four-time All-State Super 7 selection in high school…Served as captain of Agawam High School soccer team…Earned All-American, All-State, All-Region, Super 7, All-Western Massachusetts, All-New England and team MVP honors her senior year…Also played for the basketball team…Played club soccer for FC Stars ECNL under coach Jason Dewhurst.
PERSONAL: Daughter of Rebecca and Umberto Santaniello…Has one sister, Bella…Enjoys spending time with family, watching sunsets, shopping and hanging out with friends…Lists Vampire Diaries, One Tree Hill and The Office as her favorite TV shows…Names Juventus and the US National Team as her favorite sports teams…Sam Kerr, Christen Press, Julie Ertz and Rob Gronkowski are her favorite sports figures…Favorite sports memory is helping to lead her team to a championship…Fine Arts major.
NOVAK: "Hope is a junior transfer who competed for the last two years at URI and who can play anywhere across the front line. She is a tireless worker with a professional level mentally who is hungry to achieve. Her competitiveness will fit well into our team, and I hope to see her flourish here."
