12/19/25

SCRANTON, Pa. -- For the third-straight year, Lackawanna College Athletics will review the past 12 months and highlight the top 14 athletics stories and moments from the year that was. 

Today's top event from 2025 comes to us from the leadership positions for women's soccer and women's basketball.

#13: Coaching Changes Bring New Faces, Perspectives
Over the summer, Lackawanna College made two new hires to lead two of its women's sports programs, and with these changes came a sense of fresh starts for both programs.

Women's soccer was taken over by coach Juan Almonte, officially announced in July. Almonte came to the soccer program from East Stroudsburg University, where he served as a volunteer assistant with the Warriors through their spring season. He was also a volunteer assistant before that at Marywood University in the fall 2024 campaign. Coach Almonte, a pastor who originally hails from New Jersey, brought a fresh perspective for Lackawanna College women's soccer, using both an analytical and holistic approach to his student-athletes. Battling low numbers and needing to borrow student-athletes from other programs, coach Almonte managed to get the Falcons to compete in ten varsity contests, their most in one season since 2021. His squad battled low-numbers and injuries, but consistently showed up and gave maximum effort. Despite their 1-9 mark, the Falcons still earned representation on the Region XIX DI/DII squad from sophomore Melanie Shumway (Rome, PA). Almonte, who had only previous been a head coach in two years at East Stroudsburg South HS, was offered the job on a full-time basis last month. It was an offer he accepted, and he will officially start at in January 2026. In the meantime, his coaching on the pitch has motivated his returners to work hard, and his relentless recruiting has the Falcons potentially positioned to make strides in the next seasons ahead.

Just three days before Almonte's hiring was announced, a familiar face rejoined the Lackawanna College athletics family. Former assistant women's basketball coach Darnell Ford was named as the next Lackawanna College head women's basketball coach in July. Coach Ford previously served as an assistant coach during the 2022-2023 campaign. Flash forward to this past summer, he inherited a program that had just won 17 games the year before, but had graduated the majority of contributors from that squad, and was left with few numbers heading into the 2025-2026 season. Coach Ford, an experienced AAU and youth coach in the Wilkes-Barre area, quickly assembled his coaching staff and began to work to retain and recruit players to play at Lackawanna. Knowing the numbers game he'd be battling all season, coach Ford has continuously motivated his players through intense practices and kept morale high. Players like Alania Ortiz (Allentown, PA), Ali Johns (North Wales, PA), and Sophia Summa (Dunmore, PA) have all starred and thrived under coach Ford's leadership. Having already been in the program previously, coach Ford understands the unique challenges that Lackawanna faces as a junior college program, and he also has the foresight to see where the program can go in the future.

Top 14 Moments Of 2025 For Lackawanna College Athletics  
14) Women's Wrestling Makes History With Dual Victories
13) Coaching Changes Bring New Faces, Perspectives
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