9/17/24
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – Lackawanna College women's soccer will look to build on the program's first win of the season with a road contest on Tuesday, September 17^th, as the Falcons travel to nearby New Jersey for a match-up with the Sussex County CC Skylanders. Kickoff is set for 4:00pm ET in Newton, NJ.
 
About The Falcons
Lackawanna College (1-1) got its first win in nearly three seasons this past Thursday, when the Falcons knocked off the Lehigh Carbon CC Cougars on the road, 7-1, to even its record at 1-1. Melanie Shumway (Rome, PA) led the Falcons with three goals for her first career hattrick, while Lindsey Tasker (Clarks Summit, PA) came out of goal in the second half to score a pair of goals. You can read the whole recap HERE.
 
Through two games, the Falcons have given up 12 goals, eleven coming in the first match of the season against Hagerstown. All of Lackawanna's goals came against Lehigh Carbon.
 
Shumway leads the Falcons now with three goals and one assist. Shumway has nine shots on goal this year and is the biggest scoring threat up front for the Falcons. 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 a pair of goals this season, all coming in the second half against Lehigh Carbon. Tasker had eleven saves in the loss to Hagerstown. 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 two 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) will 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, entering 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 College
After a year away, the Skylanders (0-2) are back to Region XIX competition. The three-time defending Region XIX DII champions missed last season due to low roster numbers.
 
So far this season, Sussex has struggled out of the gate, dropping a pair of matches. Most recently, the Skylanders fell 8-0 to RCSJ-Gloucester over the weekend. The Roadrunners pumped all eight of their goals past the Skylanders in the first half. In its previous game, Sussex fell at home to Ocean County College, 3-0, giving up two first half goals and a second half one about 16 minutes in. The Skylanders had just two shots on goal. Sussex has not recorded any statistics.
 
The Skylanders have a roster of eleven players with five sophomores and six first-year players.
 
The Match-Ups
The match between Lackawanna and Sussex is set for a 4:00pm ET start in Newton, NJ. There will be a video livestream available via the Sussex County CC YouTube channel, linked HERE.
 
Lackawanna gets back to action on Saturday, September 28^th, when the Falcons host the Mercer County CC Vikings for a Region XIX DII clash. Kickoff is set for 12:00pm ET from Schautz Stadium in Dunmore.