It’s been quite a few months for Long Island Rough Riders standout forward Luciana Setteducate.
Not only did she win the USL W League Golden Boot with 18 goals, she also was selected to the league’s team of the year’s First Team. The announcement was made on Tuesday, July 30.
Setteducate, who will enter her junior year at Stony Brook University this fall, helped the Rough Riders women (10-0-2) to the Metropolitan Division crown.
What made Setteducate’s performance for the Rough Riders even more impressive was that she finished six goals more than her nearest W League competitors.
The Bellmore, N.Y. resident admitted that she had no delusions of grandeur when she joined the team in May.
“I was just going to try my best to get rostered, and it just ended up going really well,” Setteducate told Newsday. “The first couple of practices, I felt really good, and it just started clicking.”
Indeed, she did, sometimes scoring at will.
It certainly didn’t hurt that Settecuate bagged a brace for the Rough Riders in their 8-0 season-opening win over the Westchester Flames at home on May 19. She scored 22 minutes into the game and added a second goal in the 64th minute.
It certainly helped her confidence. Setteducate felt she could have a special summer.
“There’s a lot of talented girls on the Rough Riders, so for me to be able to just contribute felt really good,” she was quoted by Newsday. “I remember going home to my parents, and I was over here just hoping to get rostered, and now it feels like I really had a chance to do something to help the team this summer.”
And she did.
“Getting this award really helped my confidence a lot because I know I can score now,” Setteducate told the newspaper. “There were periods of times in my career where I felt in a slump and felt it just wasn’t going my way and I couldn’t get the ball in the net, but I realized I can, and that’s what I want to do at Stony Brook.”
The Rough Riders lost in the W League playoffs to eventual champion NC Courage U23 in the Eastern Conference final, 3-0, on July 7.
In her two seasons playing for Stony Brook, the 5-foot-7 Setteducate has scored four goals and assisted on seven others over 34 games. As a freshman, she tallied two goals and four assists, adding two goals and three assists during her sophomore campaign.
Setteducate was a four-year player for Mepham, captaining the squad for her final two years. She also lettered in track, lacrosse and basketball.
Stay updated with the latest on the Rough Riders by visiting www.LIRoughRiders.com.