10/14/24
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – Lackawanna College women's soccer is back in Region XIX DII action on Tuesday afternoon with an important matchup against Sussex County CC at home.
 
Kickoff is set for 3:00pm ET at Schautz Stadium in Dunmore, PA. Admission is free and open to the public, and there will be a pay-per-view video livestream available via the Lackawanna College Athletics Network at lackawannafalcons.com/LIVE.
 
It's the second time this season that Lackawanna and Sussex are playing this season, with Lackawanna winning 2-1 in Newton, NJ back on September 17^th.
 
About The Falcons
Lackawanna College (2-3-0, 1-2-0) hast lost two straight, falling 3-2 in its last game, a home match against Essex County College on October 5^th. It was a match where the Falcons fell behind 2-0 after 24 minutes, but two goals from Melanie Shumway (Rome, PA) in just three minutes of game time tied things up heading into halftime. Essex found its game winner in the 61^st minute, then held on for the win.
 
In five games this year, Lackawanna has scored eleven goals and surrendered 20, which includes an 11-0 loss to Hagerstown CC to open the season. The Falcons have 45 total saves so far this season, all coming from Lindsey Tasker (Clarks Summit, PA). Of Lackawanna's eleven goals, only two have assists attached to them, while their opponents have assisted on 12 of 20 goals. Lackawanna has been awarded three penalties and converted two of them.
 
First-year forward Shumway leads the Falcons now with six goals and one assist. Shumway has 20 shots on goal this year and is the biggest scoring threat up front for the Falcons. She had a hattrick in the 7-1 at Lehigh Carbon CC. Shumway was a standout performer at Northeast Bradford HS before coming to Lackawanna. Shumway scored the go-ahead goal in the second half against Sussex earlier this season but will not be available for Lackawanna on Tuesday.
 
Tasker is the main keeper for the Falcons this season, and has three goals this year, two coming via penalty kick. Tasker had eleven saves in the loss to Hagerstown and put up 21 saves against Mercer County CC back on 9/28. Tasker was inserted into the goalkeeper spot her senior season at Abington Heights HS, helping the Lady Comets get all the way to the state championship game. Tasker had five saves and scored a goal, a penalty, against Sussex earlier this season. Tasker had eight saves against Essex on 10/5.
 
Midfielder Autumn Frederick (Etters, PA) has a goal in five appearances so far, scoring in the second half of the win against Lehigh Carbon. Frederick is a versatile mid with the ability to drop into defense or play up in a forward spot. She had three shots, two on target, but didn't score in the loss to Essex. She had one shot on target in the win against Sussex.
 
Fellow mid Chloe Stafursky (Peckville, PA) also has a goal so far this season, scoring against Lehigh Carbon. Stafursky was a multi-sport athlete at nearby Valley View HS. Stafursky has three shots, two on target this year. She actually had the ball in the back of the net against Essex, but the play was called back for being offside.
 
Returners Sandra Diaz-Torres (Scranton, PA) and Chelsea Huegel (Scranton, PA) populate the midfield, while returners Pamela Paulino (Scranton, PA) and Sophia Mandarano (Dunmore, PA) are on defense. Paulino and Mandarano are joined by Emma Scalese, who was an all-star defender for Holy Cross HS locally in Northeast PA.
 
The head coach, now in his second season at the helm, is Dan Badyrka. Coach Badyrka took over the program midway through the 2022-2023 scholastic year, rehabbed the Falcons to be able to compete in a handful of games last season, and now believes his squad is ready to take a big step forward in 2024. Badyrka spent the previous three years before Lackawanna at nearby Dunmore HS, coaching the varsity girls soccer team. Under his guidance, the Lady Bucks won 19 games and made the district playoff semi-finals in all three seasons. Badyrka was an assistant with the Abington Travel Club before his time at Dunmore and has been working at various youth levels in soccer for the last 15 years.
 
About Sussex County CC
The Skylanders (0-6-1, 0-3-0) are still in search of their first win this season. Sussex had a lead against Atlantic Cape CC back on 9/28 in the 40^th minute, but gave up the game-tying goal five minutes into the second half, and neither team could break the deadlock, ending in a draw. The Skylanders fell 12-0 to Mercer back on October 5^th, then dropped a 2-0 score to Essex this past weekend. Essex had 19 shots, but didn't actually score until the second half, scoring two goals in the 68^th and 79^th minute to finally ease past the Skylanders.
 
As a team, Sussex has scored two goals: One against Lackawanna, the other coming against Atlantic Cape. They have given up 34 goals in seven games.
 
Forward Litzy Sauzo scored the goal against the Buccaneers from Atlantic Cape. The other goal came from forward Mariana Petrou against Lackawanna.
 
The keeper is Olivia Ricards. Olivia has allowed 34 goals and put up 75 saves on the season.
 
The Match-Up
The game is set for a 3:00pm ET start at Schautz Stadium in Dunmore, PA on Tuesday, October 15^th. There will be a pay-per-view video livestream available via the Lackawanna College Athletics Network at lackawannafalcons.com/LIVE.
 
Lackawanna College has one more regular season contest this season, an away match on Monday, October 21^st, against Middlesex College. Kickoff is set for a 2:30pm ET start in Edison, NJ.