9/18/26
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – Lackawanna College women's soccer will hit the road this weekend for a trip to take on Shepherd University on Saturday, September 19^th. Kickoff is set for 1:00pm ET, and the game is the first of a doubleheader, with the women's teams playing first and the men's teams following at 3:30pm ET at the Shepherd Soccer Complex in Shepherdstown, WV.
 
Game Details
Who: Lackawanna College Falcons (1-5-0) at Shepherd University Rams (5-1-0)
When: Saturday, September 19^th, 1:00pm ET
Where: Shepherd Soccer Complex, Shepherd University; Shepherdstown, WV
 
Video | Live Stats
 
Video Coverage: PSAC Sports Digital Network
Fans who cannot make the trip to Shepherd can watch along for free on the PSAC Sports Digital Network.
 
Live stats: https://shepherdrams.com/sidearmstats/wsoc/summary
Live stats coverage is available and will be updated as the game goes on.
 
The Falcons
Lackawanna (1-5-0) comes into the weekend after playing a solid defensive game for nearly 70 minutes against Bloomsburg this past Wednesday, but the Huskies scored four second-half goals to pull away for the win, 5-0, in Dunmore. The Huskies outshot the Falcons 31-1, putting 15 shots on target and taking nine corners. Bloom scored a goal just three minutes into the game, but the Falcons played great defense for 70 minutes after that. However, the Huskies found a breakthrough in the 73^rd, and then scored three more over the next 15 minutes to pull away. Read the full recap HERE.
 
Alana Alayo (Cherry Hill, NJ) posted the only shot for the Falcons on Wednesday. Sophia Arvelo (Allentown, PA) had ten saves in goal for the Falcons.
 
Through their first six games, the Falcons have given up 26 goals and scored one against their six PSAC opponents. Lackawanna has 15 shots, 12 on target, a .800 percentage, but the defense is under constant pressure, giving up 170 shots, 81 on target. The opposition has 63 corner kicks to just three for the Falcons. Lackawanna has made 55 saves to just eleven from the opposition.
 
Isabella Caligiuri (Effort, PA) has three shots on target this season, while Grace King (Calvert County, MD), MacKenzie Seifried (Winfield, NJ), and Darexy Monroy (Pleasantville, NJ) each have a pair of shots this season. Kosi Nwozuzu (Queens, NY) has the only goal for the Falcons this year, coming in the win against Mansfield, while Aislyn Fitzgerald (Langhorne, PA) has the assist. Arvelo has 55 saves this year, posting a season-high 17 at #3 West Chester.
 
Head coach Juan Almonte, hired in July 2025, cobbled together a roster and competed for ten games last season, sometimes competing with just nine student-athletes, but the Falcons program made great strides, and coach Almonte hit the recruiting trail hard to find young, talented players.
 
With only three returning players from last season, the Falcons have a lot of young, first-year players set to step into major roles in 2026. One of those young players is up front, in Fitzgerald, who coach Almonte feels can have an immediate impact on how the Falcons attack. Fitzgerald is a first-year player who starred at Neshaminy HS, making the District 1 Class 4A quarterfinals and ran hurdles for Neshaminy in her time there.
 
In the midfield, Monroy can provide immediate offensive bite, while controlling the middle of the park. Monroy had 103 goals and 45 assists in her high school career. She also played flag football in high school.
 
At the back, the Falcons rely on players like Nwozuzu to help add some strength to the defensive front. Nwozuzu is a strong, physical player that can help shore up the middle of the defense in front of Arvelo, a four-year starter in high school at Bethlehem Catholic who has great shot-stopping ability and is comfortable with the ball at her feet.
 
The Rams
Shepherd (5-1) has won four of their last five, the only blemish a 5-3 loss at ranked Kutztown back on September 5^th. Shepherd has been off since September 12^th, a 1-0 win at home against East Stroudsburg University. The Rams were in control through most of the game, outshooting ESU 10-5 and posting more corners at 4-1, but the breakthrough didn't come until the 87^th minute. The game featured four cautions.
 
In the current PSAC standings, Shepherd is first at 4-1, while Kutztown is 4-0 and in second, with a game in-hand. Millersville is 3-1-1 and in third with ten points, while West Chester is 3-0-1 with ten points in fourth.
 
Shepherd has scored 15 goals, averaging 2.5 per game, while their opponents have scored eight this year. The Rams have 83 shots, 42 on target (.506), while their opponents have 48 shots, 24 on target (.500). The Rams have 36 corners, and their opponents have 15. Shepherd has forced 27 saves from the opposition, while Shepherd has 16 stops.
 
Junior forward Merritt Delk leads the team with five goals and one assist, posting a team-high eleven points. Her 14 shots are tied for first on the team, and she has eleven shots on target, tops on the squad. Delk scored two goals in the 3-0 win against Mansfield, and last scored in the game against Bloomsburg on September 9^th. She did not score and attempted one shot in the win against ESU last weekend.
 
Senior midfielder Reagan Ackermann is second on the team in points (9), posting three goals and three assists. Ackermann has ten shots, seven on frame this season. She scored two goals against Shippensburg back on September 2^nd, and has recorded at least a point in her last four matches. She had the goal against East Stroudsburg last weekend.
 
Sophomore Defender Aniyah Parker has three goals and two assists this season, taking 12 shots and hitting the target on six of them this season. Parker has scored at least a point in her last four matches, scoring goals against both Kutztown and Bloomsburg, and assisting the game-winner against East Stroudsburg last weekend.
 
Redshirt-junior Alex Stuart is the main keeper, starting in five games and allowing 1.66 goals per game. She has one clean sheet this season, coming against Shippensburg, and combined for another against Mansfield, where she exited 74 minutes in. Her best game came against Bloomsburg, where she had seven saves in the win. She did not start the last game, however, as that was Kendall Wright, a sophomore keeper. She had three saves in the shutout win.
 
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.
 
Shepherd was picked to finish fourth in the PSAC East this season, behind WCU, Kutztown, and Bloomsburg. The Rams returned two of their top three scorers in Delk and Ackermann.
 
Next
Next up, Lackawanna College will remain on the road and make its first-ever trip to East Stroudsburg University to take on the Warriors on Wednesday, September 23^rd. Kickoff is set for 7:00pm ET under the lights at Eiler-Martin Stadium at ESU.