10/4/24
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – Lackawanna College women's soccer is back in action this Saturday, October 5^th, when the Falcons will play host to Region XIX DII opponent Essex County College at Schautz Stadium in Dunmore. The game is the first of a doubleheader at the field, with Lackawanna men's soccer taking on Northampton CC in the following match at 2:00pm ET.  
 
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.
 
About The Falcons
Lackawanna College (2-2-0) dropped its last game, a 4-0 defeat at home, to Mercer County CC. The Falcons had little to no possession to speak of, managing only one shot on goal, a free kick early in the first half, all game. Despite being under constant pressure from the Vikings, the Falcons only trailed 1-0 at the break. Eventually, Mercer's possession overwhelmed Lackawanna, which conceded three second half goals.  
 
Through four games this year, Lackawanna has scored nine goals and surrendered 17, which includes an 11-0 loss to Hagerstown CC to open the season. The Falcons have 37 total saves so far this season, all coming from Lindsey Tasker (Clarks Summit, PA). Of Lackawanna's nine goals, only two have assists attached to them, whereas their opponents have assisted on eleven of 17 goals. Lackawanna has been awarded three penalties, and converted two of them.
 
First-year forward Melanie Shumway (Rome, PA) leads the Falcons now with four goals and one assist. Shumway has 15 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.
 
Tasker, who played in between the pipes for the Falcons in the first half against Lehigh Carbon, has three goals this season, two coming via penalty kick. Tasker had eleven saves in the loss to Hagerstown, and put up 21 saves against Mercer County CC last weekend. Tasker was inserted into the goalkeeper position her senior season at Abington Heights HS, helping the Lady Comets get all the way to the state championship game.
 
Midfielder Autumn Frederick (Etters, PA) has a goal in four 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.
 
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.
 
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) will man the 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 Essex County College
The Wolverines (2-3-1) have had an up-and-down first six games this year, getting beaten by scores of 7-0 (Cumberland), 9-0 (Mercer), and 11-0 (CCBC Essex), but also winning games against Brookdale CC and Five Towns College. That Essex match was the last game the Wolverines played, as the Knights peppered the ECC net with 21 shots on target. CCBC held a 4-0 advantage at halftime, after scoring three goals in the first 15 minutes, then adding a fourth in the 38^th. The second half was when the flood gates opened, however, as the Knights put up seven goals, scoring four of those goals in a nine-minute span from the 56^th minute to the 65^th.
 
On the year, Essex has given up 32 goals in six matches, while scoring 13. Almost all of Essex's goals (12 of 13) have come via an assist. Essex has had to make 60 saves this year,
 
First-year player Ilana Lashley leads the team with six goals and two assists this season. Lashley has two games with multiple goals, including a hattrick in the first game of the year, the 7-0 win over Brookdale. She added an assist against the Jersey Blues, then had two goals and an assist in Essex's other win, a 4-3 victory against Five Towns College. Lashley managed one shot in the loss to CCBC Essex last weekend.
 
Sophomore Nisrine Taalba is second on the Wolverines with three goals and an assist this season. Taalba had two goals in the win against Five Towns last week, and she scored a goal and had an assist in the win against Brookdale to open the year. Taalba didn't have a shot in the loss to CCBC.
 
Sophomore Tiffany Escobar has two goals and two assists this season. All those statistics came in the win against Brookdale to open the season. Escobar had a shot in the loss to CCBC last weekend.
 
First-year goalkeeper Marie Telusma has started and played in all six contests for the Wolverines this year. Telusma has 60 saves, averaging about ten per contest, and has surrendered 32 this season. She has four games with double-digit saves, her best coming against Mercer, where she had 16 saves. Telusma had two saves in her only clean sheet, the win against Brookdale. Against Five Towns, a 4-3 win, Telusma had eight saves.
 
The head coach for the Wolverines is Monique Edouard, who has been a mainstay for a long time in the ECC athletics family as the head coach for the women's program. Edouard has had countless excellent seasons at Essex, including last year's Region XIX DII championship squad, where Essex defeated Mercer 2-1, despite losing to the Vikings 7-2 earlier in the season. Edouard has won four region championships since 2013 for the Wolverines (2013, 2014, 2017, 2023).  
 
The Match-Up
The game is set for a 12:00pm ET start at Schautz Stadium in Dunmore, PA on Saturday, October 5^th. There will be a pay-per-view video livestream available via the Lackawanna College Athletics Network at lackawannafalcons.com/LIVE.
 
Lackawanna College is back to work on Wednesday, October 9^th, when the Falcons travel to Bryn Mawr, PA to take on Harcum College. Kickoff is set for 3:00pm ET.