8/21/26
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – Lackawanna College women's soccer will begin its 2026 odyssey this coming weekend, as the Falcons travel to Hartwick to take on the Hawks in a pre-season scrimmage on Saturday, August 22^nd, at 12:00pm ET in Oneonta, NY.
 
The scrimmage is the first of two in three days for the Falcons, who will be back out on the road on Monday, August 24^th, with a road scrimmage at 5:00pm ET at Western Connecticut State in Danbury, CT. These two contests mark the first varsity athletics competition for the women's team as a four-year program. It also marks the start of the second season in charge for coach Juan Almonte, hired late in the summer of 2025 to take over the women's soccer program.
 
Almonte inherited a team that was low on players and battled those numbers and injuries throughout the 2025 campaign, but the Falcons still managed to play ten games and earned an All-Region nod for striker Melanie Shumway (Rome, PA). His efforts in recruiting have the Falcons in much better shape entering the 2026 season.
 
Before coming to the Falcons, Almonte was a volunteer assistant at East Stroudsburg University, helping with analytics and tracking data in the spring 2025 season. At Marywood, he was a volunteer assistant during the fall 2024 season. Before that, Almonte was a varsity coach at East Stroudsburg South for two seasons, after starting as an assistant.
 
The Falcons return only a trio of players from last year's squad, with the rest of the roster made up of talented first-year student-athletes or transfers looking for a different opportunity.
 
Up front, the Falcons have some potential for offensive bite with the young talent at the top. Coach Almonte sees the forwards as a group with great pace and strong 1v1 abilities. Almonte believes the forwards and wingers can stretch defenses, take on defenders, and create opportunities.
 
In the midfield, the Falcons are deep with talent. Almonte says there are technically strong players who are comfortable on the ball and can help the Falcons in possession. There are also a handful of attacking mids with the ability to finish around the box or from outside the 18.
 
The defense will be paced by keeper Sophia Arvelo (Allentown, PA), who coach Almonte believes has elite-level potential. Arvelo was a four-year starter at Bethlehem Catholic and was named to the Olympic Development Program in January 2026. Almonte says Arvelo is a great shot-stopper with great athleticism and is very comfortable with the ball at her feet. She will have a defense with two physical center backs in front of her and a group of outside backs that can defend on the edge and get forward to support attacking opportunities.
 
Aside from Arvelo, coach Almonte highlighted three other players that will be players to watch for the Falcons this fall:
 

• Forward/Midfielder Aislyn Fitzgerald (Langhorne, PA) is a first-year player who can help pace the Lackawanna attack from either the forward or midfield spots. Fitzgerald as a standout on a Neshaminy team that made it to the rough-and-tumble PIAA District 1 4A quarterfinals, falling to eventual district champion Pennridge. Fitzgerald has excellent speed and control, and she was a multi-sport athlete in high school, running the hurdles in track and field.

 

• Midfielder Darexy Monroy (Pleasantville, NJ) is a first-year player with an outstanding high school resume, scoring 103 goals and dishing out 45 assists in her time at Pleasantville HS. She was a Cape Atlantic Coaches' All-Star team selection in her senior season, and played flag football in the spring. Darexy can finish in front of net and has the ability to control the game from the midfield.

 

• Center Back Kosisochukwu Nwozuzu (Brooklyn, NY) is one of the physically and technically strong defensive players coach Almonte was referencing. Kosi will be charged with taking control in the middle of a defense that figures to see plenty of action from the top-ranked soccer opponents in the PSAC this season.

 
The keys to success for coach Almonte rest in how the team progresses and grows throughout the season. He believes, as a young team, the Falcons are building something to last, and success in year one goes beyond just wins and losses.
 
"We want to establish an identity, build a strong culture, and develop habits that will form the foundation of our program," said coach Almonte, "We talk a lot about 'team before self, every time.' If we can stay committed to that, remain connected through adversity, compete for one another, and keep getting better every day, I believe results will eventually take care of themselves."
 
All the Lackawanna College athletics squads are playing the 2026-2027 campaign without a conference and governing body home, as Lackawanna College begins its transformational journey from a two-year competition model to a four-year one. Lackawanna College has begun its application for membership with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II, and its association with the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC), ending nearly 70 years of competition as a two-year institution in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA).
 
Despite not officially being a part of the PSAC, Lackawanna College has been afforded a spot in the conference schedules for the 2026-2027 season and will compete against PSAC schools this year, helping fill out a significant portion of the schedule and giving Lackawanna College student-athletes a chance to compete against Division II competition, right away.
 
The women's soccer schedule has the two aforementioned scrimmages with Hartwick College and Western Connecticut State, before the Falcons jump into regular season action on Saturday, August 29^th, with a home opener against future-PSAC mate Shippensburg at Schautz Stadium in Dunmore, starting at 1:00pm ET.
 
The Falcons will run the PSAC gauntlet, playing two pre-season nationally ranked sides (#6 West Chester and #17 Shepherd) twice, as well as two games against Kutztown, receiving votes in the early polls. Lackawanna also has home-and-away ties with Bloomsburg, East Stroudsburg, Mansfield, Millersville, and Shippensburg. Lackawanna has two non-PSAC match-ups on the docket, hosting St. Thomas Aquinas College on September 30^th, and then hosting the school's ancient rival Keystone College on October 31^st in the home and regular season finale.
 
Every regular season home contest will be played at Schautz Stadium in Dunmore and will have a livestream available for free at lackawannafalcons.com/LIVE.
 
Lackawanna College will also be competing for this season only in the United Small College Athletic Association (USCAA) in both men's and women's soccer, which can provide the Falcons with an opportunity this year to compete for postseason glory, should they qualify.