WILKES-BARRE – The Wilkes University women's soccer team is about to kick off their 2024 season, hosting matches at Bruggeworth Field and Schmidt Stadium. 2023 marked the team's first campaign in the Landmark Conference, finishing with a 1-4-4 record in conference play and a 3-6-7 overall record. John McNichol, entering his seventh season as head coach, is joined by new assistant coach Lily Cross, the former Head Coach at Keystone.

Reflecting on the upcoming season and the importance of preseason preparation, McNichol stated,

"We've had a really good preseason camp so far, the young women have done a fantastic job… of really focusing on team chemistry, making sure that it's an inclusive culture where everybody feels extremely valued. We just had a great session today where there's just so much positive peer feedback… you can just tell everything that they've been doing, they've been enjoying each other's company, working hard together, so it's been a great start to the year and hopefully it's a sign of good things to come."

McNichol also praised the returners for their experience and positional coverage.

"Whether it's in the back, the middle, or up top, we've got some players coming back in all three spots… some of them have been three, four-year starters for us now, they're pretty battle-tested. They've played in some big games."

Erica Feese (State College, PA/State College Area) departs, but her sister Holly returns for her senior season as the leader in shots on goal (13) for the team. Erin Edwards (East Greenville, PA/Upper Perkiomen) led the Colonels in points (5) in 2023 as a first year, showing promise for the future of Wilkes soccer. Another returning sophomore is Jess Shea (Somerset, NJ/Franklin), who was fourth on the team in minutes (1108) and shots (17). 

The offense for the upcoming season will feature seniors Feese and Sarah Eliff (Owings, MD/Northern), junior Taylor Anthony (Middlesex, NJ/Middlesex), sophomore Erin Edwards (East Greenville, PA/Upper Perkiomen), and first-year players Katie Clarke (Pennington, NJ/Hopewell Valley Central), Addi Parker (Canton, PA/Canton), Mia Black (Swarthmore, PA/Delaware Valley Friends School), and Ava Young (Downingtown, PA/Downingtown West). With four of its top five goal scorers returning, the Colonels have a strong foundation for their attack.

In the midfield, seniors Mia Scelsa (Islip, NY/St. John the Baptist) and Madison Straub (Franklin, NJ/Franklin) provide leadership, while junior Lauren Lefchak (Clarks Summit, PA/Abington Heights) adds an aggressive presence, having attempted 18 shots last year, third most on the team. Taylor Gollin (Springfield, NJ/Jonathan Dayton) and Jess Shea (Somerset, NJ/Franklin) join them as sophomores, with first-year additions Rachel Keister (Middleburg, PA/Midd-West) and Hannah Dennison (Limerick, PA/Spring-Ford) rounding out the group.

Defensively, the Colonels will lean on seniors Jordyn Jennings (York, PA/Northeastern), Olivia Kozlowski (Syracuse, N.Y./Cicero North Syracuse), Brooke Snopkowski (Havertown, PA/Haverford), Aliah Balch (Paupack, PA/Wallenpaupack Area), and Alex Holmstrom (West Deptford, NJ/West Deptford), providing a solid and experienced backline – they have totaled over 10,000 minutes played in their careers thus far. They are supported by juniors Kate Durig (Gambrills, MD/Mount de Sales) and Julianna Askins (Carlisle, PA/Carlise), who bring versatility and depth to the defensive unit. Erin Somerville (Warminster, PA/William Tennent) is the lone sophomore, while the team brings in first-years Elena Krajain (Lumberton, NJ/Rancocas Valley Regional), Taylor Sparks (Monroeville, NJ/Woodstown), Ashlyn Brown (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool), Madisyn Conrad (Langhorne, PA/Neshaminy), and Grace Alderson (Byram, NJ/Lenape Valley Regional).

In goal, the team will miss Hannah Landis (Red Hill, PA/Upper Perkiomen), who led the Landmark Conference in saves per game (4.93) in 2023. Senior Amanda Lee (Middletown, PA/Middletown Area) and first year Delaney Yaracas will compete for the starting goalie spot. McNichol remarked, "With the goalkeeping spot, it's gonna be something very new [since] we graduated both of our goalkeepers last year."

The Colonels will begin their season with a home match at Bruggeworth Field. They face Oswego State for their first time on Saturday, August 31st, at 1:00 p.m. They follow it up with a Wednesday night home game at Schmidt Stadium against William Paterson University on September 4th at 7:00 p.m. Their Landmark Conference schedule kicks off September 28th at Susquehanna University at 1:00 p.m. Wilkes will host Elizabethtown College on October 19th at 1:00 p.m. for Senior Day. 

"It's a fantastic conference, the Landmark, it's just top to bottom, there's so much quality there." McNichol explained as the team heads into its second year in the conference. "Teams… were very tactical, very disciplined, just play a really good brand of soccer. We weren't that far off in some of these games, but keeping that mental toughness is really gonna help us… it's really fun to be a part of a conference that just showcases, you know, high-quality soccer day in and day out."