10/16/26 
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – Looking to get back up off the mat after a tough mid-week loss, Lackawanna College women's soccer is set to host Shepherd University on Saturday, October 17^th, for the first game of a doubleheader between the two schools for the weekend. The women's teams will kick at 1:00pm ET at Schautz Stadium in Dunmore, while the men's teams will follow at 3:30pm ET.
 
Game Details 
Who: Shepherd University Rams (9-4-1) at Lackawanna College Falcons (1-12-0)
When: Saturday, October 17^th, 1:00pm ET  
Where: Schautz Stadium; Dunmore, PA
 
Video | Live Stats | Tickets
 
Video Coverage: PSAC Digital Sports Network
There is a video livestream available via the PSAC Sports Digital Network for those who cannot make the trip.
 
Live Stats:  https://lackawannafalcons.com/sidearmstats/wsoc/summary
Live stats coverage is available and will be updated as the game goes on.
 
Tickets: https://lackawannafalcons.com/tickets
Lackawanna College is cashless for admission tickets, which can be purchased ahead of time via the link above or in-person at the gates of the venue with a credit or debit card.
 
This will be the second game between Lackawanna and Shepherd, with the Rams taking the first match-up, 6-0, back on September 19^th. Shepherd scored three goals in each half, posting 38 shots, 16 on target, and holding the Falcons without a shot. You can read the full recap HERE.
 
The Falcons 
Lackawanna (1-12-0) was unable to get a shot off for the second game in a row, as the #4 Golden Bears from Kutztown University scored five first half goals en route to a 9-0 defeat of the Falcons. Kutztown had 31 shots, 17 on target, and ten corners. Lackawanna College made eight saves. Read the full recap HERE.
 
On the season, the Falcons have given up 68 goals, a 5.23 goals against average, while scoring two goals through 13 games. Lackawanna has 22 shots, 15 on target (.682), while the opposition has attempted an overwhelming 434 shots, 214 on target (.493). The Falcons have six corner kicks, while their opponents have 141 corners this season. Lackawanna has had to make 146 saves on the year, while forcing 13 saves from the opposition.
 
Kosi Nwozuzu (Queens, NY), a first-year defender, has one of the two goals for the Falcons this season, scoring the game-winner against Mansfield University back on September 9^th at home. Nwozuzu has only played in five games this year, missing her last eight games due to a lower leg injury. The last game she saw time in was the Millersville contest on September 12^th.
 
First-year midfielder Alana Alayo (Cherry Hill, NJ) has started all 13 games and has the other goal, scoring on a late shot from distance against West Chester in a 5-1 defeat on September 26^th. Alayo has three shots, two on target. She played 90 minutes against Kutztown on Wednesday, and played 74 minutes against Shepherd back on September 19^th.
 
MacKenzie Seifried (Winfield, NJ), a first-year forward, leads the Falcons with four shots, two on frame this season. She has recorded at least a shot in two of her last four games. Seifried played 90 minutes at Kutztown on Wednesday, the sixth-straight game she went the distance. She saw 77 minutes of action against Shepherd in the first game back on September 19^th.
 
First-year forward Isabella Caligiuri (Effort, PA) has played in 13 games this season, starting in ten, and has three shots, all on target this year. She recorded a pair of near misses against West Chester back on September 5^th, and had a shot on target in the win against Mansfield on September 9^th. She played all 90 minutes against Kutztown on Wednesday, and played 60 minutes of action against Shepherd earlier this year.
 
Sophia Arvelo (Allentown, PA), a first-year keeper, has started and played in all 13 games for the Falcons this season, giving up 68 goals, a 5.27 goals against average, while making 142 saves, a .676 save percentage. Arvelo had a clean sheet victory against Mansfield on September 9^th, and her next best goal performance came against Millersville, giving up two goals on September 12^th. She had nine saves against the Marauders. Her season-best is 18 saves, which came against Millersville on October 10^th. Arvelo made eight stops against Kutztown this past Wednesday. She had ten saves against Shepherd on September 19^th.
 
Coach Juan Almonte was named the head women's soccer coach at Lackawanna College in July 2025, and he will be entering his second season in charge for the fall 2026 campaign. Coach Almonte came to Lackawanna after stints as a volunteer coach with both East Stroudsburg and Marywood University. Before that, he was a head coach with East Stroudsburg South HS for two seasons.
 
In his inaugural season, Almonte and his Falcons battled injuries and a shortage of players to still compete in ten matches, winning a road contest at PSU Scranton for the highlight of the season. Despite the lack of on-field success, Almonte helped coach Melanie Shumway to her second-straight All-Region XIX selection, pacing the Lackawanna College offensive attack.
 
The Rams
Shepherd (9-4-1) has won just one game in its last five contests, suffering three defeats and a draw. The only win for the Rams came against Shippensburg on October 7^th, a 3-1 victory at home. After that, the Rams drew with Bloomsburg at home on Saturday, October 10^th, then fell 4-0 to Millersville at home this past weekend. The nation's leading scorer, Aubrey Strohecker, added two more goals to her tally, one in either half, and Millersville led 2-0 at half and 4-0 at full time. The Rams had eleven shots, five on target, but couldn't find the breakthrough to get in the game. Millersville had a 15-11 shot advantage, and a 10-5 SOG advantage.
 
Shepherd currently sits at third in the table with 22 points and a 7-4-1 record. The Rams have two remaining contests in PSAC play (vs. WCU, at ESU). Kutztown and West Chester are each tied for first right now, with Kutztown in front on a tiebreaker, but both teams are on 25 points. Shepherd is three points clear of Bloomsburg, but the Huskies have three remaining conference games. Millersville is in fifth, one point off Bloomsburg at 18 points. ESU (3-6-2), Shippensburg (1-8-1), and Mansfield (0-11-0) round out the rest of the PSC East.
  
Shepherd has scored 29 goals, averaging just over two per game, while their opponents have scored 18 this year, around 1.3 goals per contest. The Rams have 220 shots, 111 on target (.505), while their opponents have taken 119 shots, 63 on target (.529). The Rams have 81 corners, and their opponents have 42. Shepherd has forced 82 saves from the opposition, while Shepherd has 45 stops.
 
Junior forward Merritt Delk leads the Rams with ten goals and three assists for 21 points this season, first on the team. Her 36 shots are also first on the squad, and she has 27 shots on target, a .750 SOG percentage. Delk has scored a season-high two goals in three separate games, scoring a brace against Mansfield (8/29), Lackawanna (9/19), and Mansfield again (9/23) this season. She had that pair of goals on five shots against the Falcons in the first go-round. She did not score in 66 minutes against Millersville on Wednesday, but did get off a pair of shots. She's been held without a goal in her last three games.
 
Junior midfielder Olivia Gardner is second on the team with 13 points, boosted by her team-high seven assists, and she has three goals as well this season. Gardner has 30 shots, 16 on target, both second on the squad, and has an SOG percentage at .533. Gardner had two assists in the win against Mansfield on August 29^th, then posted a goal and an assist against Lackawanna on September 19^th. She had a goal in the win against Shippensburg on October 7^th. Gardner has seven shots, four on target, in her last two games, but has not scored in either contest.
 
Senior midfielder Reagan Ackermann is third on the team in points (12), posting four goals and four assists in her 14 games this season. Ackermann has 21 shots, eleven on frame, for a .524 SOG percentage this year. She scored two goals against Shippensburg back on September 2^nd, and had at least a point in five-straight matches, including goals in back-to-back games against ESU (9/12) and Lackawanna (9/19). She has not recorded a goal since the Lackawanna game, but she posted an assist in the win against Shippensburg on October 7^th. Ackermann didn't record a shot in 76 minutes against Millersville.
 
Sophomore defender Aniyah Parker has four goals and three assists this season, taking 29 shots and hitting the target on 13 of them. Parker has scored goals against West Virginia State (8/27), Kutztown (9/5), Bloomsburg (9/9), and Lackawanna College (9/19). She has not scored since the Lackawanna match. She recorded an assist in a loss to West Chester on September 30^th. Parker had a season-high five shots in the draw with Bloomsburg last weekend. She had one shot on target in the loss to Millersville in 55 minutes earlier this week.
 
Redshirt-junior Alex Stuart is the main keeper, starting in 12 games and allowing 15 goals this year, a 1.45 goals per game average. She has four clean sheets this season, coming against Shippensburg (9/2), Millersville (9/23), Mansfield (9/26), and Bloomsburg (10/10). Stuart's season-high seven saves came against Bloomsburg on September 9^th, in a win for the Rams. She had six saves in the draw with Bloom on October 10^th, and had three saves against Millersville on Wednesday. Stuart did not play against Lackawanna College on September 19^th.
 
The head coach for the Rams is Bob Meals, currently in his first season with the program. Meals was the interim head coach at American International College last season, and was an assistant at Fitchburg State earlier in 2025. He was a longtime assistant and the recruiting coordinator at UMass-Boston from 2018 through 2025, and was the head women's soccer coach at Eastern Nazarene for two years from 2016 through 2017. Meals has a ton of experience on the club circuit, coaching Scorpions Soccer Club in the Elite Clubs National League since 2013. He coached national and regional squads through the club, became the ECNL recruiting coordinator in 2024, and was the assistant coach for the Scorpions Soccer Club in the United Women's Soccer League One from 2021 through 2023. He graduated from Bridgewater State in 2001, and earned his master's degree from Southern New Hampshire University in 2022.
 
Next
Next up, Lackawanna College women's soccer remains at home for another PSAC East opponent on Wednesday, October 21^st, when East Stroudsburg makes the trip to NEPA. Kickoff for that game is set for 3:30pm ET at Schautz Stadium.