WILKES-BARRE – The Wilkes University women's soccer team returns to Bruggerworth Field to build off the success they had last season. They finished the 2021 season with an 8-9-2 record, earning them fifth in the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom and made the MAC Freedom semifinals. Their head coach John McNichol enters his fifth year of coaching for the Colonels.
 
"We're really excited, we have a great group of young women who are ready to roll," McNichol explained.

He enjoys seeing them work hard, both on and off the field for the team culture, ultimately shooting for the expectation of having a successful season which includes getting into the MAC Freedom tournament.
 
McNichol brings a group of young talented players that paved the way for last year in terms of starting and experience for the Colonels. The biggest returns is at the goalkeeper position, with juniors Hannah Landis (Red Hill, PA/Upper Perkiomen) and Lauren Sweeney (West Chester, PA/West Chester Rustin) looking to continue their success from last year. Landis started in 15 of the 16 games she appeared in, holding a .759 save percentage and 82 saves last year for the Colonels. Sweeney started in three games, holding a 1.26 goals against average while saving 10 shots on the season. The goalies look to help elevate the Colonels defensive unit.
 
Looking at the forwards for the Navy and Gold, sophomore Sarah Eliff (Owings, MD/Northern), senior Holly Feese (State College, PA/State College Area), graduate student Kayla Lopez (Binghamton, NY/Chenango Valley), and junior Cesia Diaz (Belleville, NJ/Belleville) look to lead the charge for success in the position. Eliff finished second on the team with 11 points and 18 shots on goal for the Colonels. Feese finished fourth on the team with five points, while tying for fourth on the team with two goals. Lopez started in four games in her 10 appearances, while Diaz added a goal against Neumann last season.
 
The midfielders are led by sophomore Katie Sites (Collegeville, PA/Spring-Ford Area), who started in 16 of the 18 games she appeared in. Sites had 11 shots last year, with 5 of the shots on goal. She looks to bring momentum from last fall along with seniors Hannah Hart (Hamilton, NJ/Steinert), Kiana Jedlicka (Poughquag, NY/Arlington), and Taylor Reiff (Collegeville, PA/Perkiomen Valley), as they look to continue their success in the midfield position for Wilkes. Hart played in 17 games, with six shots on goals and two points last season. Jedlicka started in five games last year, while Reiff appeared in 11 games. Junior Mia Scelsa (Islip, NY/St. John the Baptist), and sophomores Cate Schoeniger (Collegeville, PA/Perkiomen Valley) and Gabrielle Ricci (Millstone, NJ/Allentown) round out the returning midfielders for the Colonels.
 
The defensive unit for the Colonels looks to utilize their experience and knowledge from last year, with seniors Erica Feese (State College, PA/State College Area) and Kailee Harwick (Souderton, PA/Souderton) coming back, along with sophomores Madison Straub (Franklin, NJ/Franklin), Aliah Balch (Paupack, PA/Wallenpaupack Area), and Alex Holmstrom (West Deptford, NJ/West Deptford). Feese appeared in 10 games, tied for first on the team with five assists and fourth with seven points, while Harwick started in 12 of 15 games she appeared in. Straub and Holmstrom both started in 14 games last season, while Balch earned two goals for the Colonels. Senior Hayli Akakpo-Martin (Middletown, PA/Middletown Area) and sophomores Jordyn Jennings (York, PA/Northeastern), Brooke Snopkowski (Havertown, PA/Haverford), and Olivia Kozlowski (Syracuse, N.Y./Cicero North Syracuse) return to round out the returners.
 
"Our returning players are excited to get back together," McNichol discussed. "They were my first recruiting class, especially our seniors. We're really excited to see how they have matured from day one to where we are now."
 
McNichol believes this group is more of a lead by example, helping with explaining certain aspects of the system and how the team wants to play.
 
"We're really excited to have them back to continue to be leaders, forcing good habits on our group, and helping everybody achieve at a high level."
 
The Colonels look to the new additions to their core group as first years, Riley McGee (Bayville, NJ/Central Regional), Jennalyn Aravena (Edison, NJ/Edison), Madison Whitesell (Bloomsburg, PA/Central Coulmbia), Taylor Anthony (Middlesex, NJ/Middlesex), Lauren Lefchak (Clarks Summit, PA/Abington Heights), Ella Cano (Marlboro, NJ/Colts Neck), Lauren Bowers (Exeter Township, PA/Exeter), Kate Durig (Gambrills, MD/Mount de Sales), and Kayla Fernandez (Berwick, PA/Berwick Area) look make an immediate impact for the team. Another new addition is junior Gianna Picco (Waverly, NY/Waverly), playing her first year with the team this season. In addition to this year's first years and new players is two transfers, sophomores Olivia Ricci (Millstone, NJ/Allentown) and Amanda Lee (Middletown, PA/Middletown). Ricci is a transfer from Susquehanna University, while Lee comes from Eastern University.
 
"Our first year players have done an awesome job of fitting in," remarked McNichol.
 
He believes the scrimmages these players have participated in during the pre-season gives the newcomers a chance to get their feet wet and to get into their first college soccer game. He believes the tough adjustment of going to college for the first time hasn't altered the work ethic and energy they bring to practices and scrimmages.
 
"They're a great group and we're really excited to watch them grow and develop, especially this year, and continue on for their four year career," McNichol added.
 
The Colonels open their season on the road, starting at Penn State-Berks Wednesday, September 1 at 7:00 p.m. The Navy and Gold return to Bruggeworth Field for their home opener against Penn College on September 3 at 12:00 p.m.  They then open their MAC Freedom slate by hosting DeSales University on homecoming weekend October 1 at 1:00 p.m.
 
"The MAC Freedom is one of the toughest conferences in the country," McNichol remarked. "You got some good quality programs in there. Obviously, you got teams like Misericordia and Stevens, who are top 10 programs in the country. For us, we want to challenge ourselves in our non-conference schedule to prepare for our conference play."
 
McNichol looks forward to compete in the conference one last time.
 
"There's not an easy game in our conference, regardless of who you play on what day, anyone can beat anyone."