Four Eastern Pennsylvania Division 1 women’s soccer programs still have hopes of making the NCAA Tournament with conference tournaments kicking off this weekend.
La Salle women are into the postseason for the first time since 2019 after earning a second seed in the Atlantic 10 championship.
The No. 2 seed Explorers (10-5-3, 8-1-1) will host No. 7 Rhode Island on Friday night at McCarthy Stadium in Philadelphia at 7 p.m. It will be the first women’s soccer playoff game at the stadium since they beat Dayton 1-0 in an Atlantic 10 quarterfinal on Nov. 2, 2019.
Picked to finish eight in the conference, the Explorers went unbeaten in their last nine conference matches after a 4-0 loss to St. Louis on Sept. 17. ODP alums Haley Gschrey (pictured above) and Justyce Hollenbach lead the Explorers attack each with six goals and an assist.
Friday’s match at McCarthy Stadium will be a homecoming for Rhode Island rookie Megan Steinbach, who has logged 663 minutes and started eight matches in her first season with the Rams. La Salle is the alma mater of her father, Dave Steinbach, who was her coach at Warrington Soccer Club.
No. 6 Saint Joseph’s (4-8-6, 4-3-3) visits No. 3 Dayton on Friday night in an Atlantic 10 quarterfinal.
Back-to-Back Patriot League champions Bucknell (11-3-4, 5-1-3) return as a second seed in their conference tournament. Army West Point, which Bucknell defeated on penalties to win the championship last season, are the top seed. The Bison will host a semifinal next Thursday, Nov. 2, at 7 p.m. Lehigh (7-5-4, 4-4-1) visits Boston University on Sunday in one of two quarterfinal matches.
La Salle’s roster features eight players who hail from Eastern Pennsylvania. Lehigh and Saint Joseph’s rosters both have seven players from Eastern PA while Bucknell has one.
| School | Player | Class | Pos. | Hometown | Youth Club/ODP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bucknell | Paige Temple | Jr. | F | Bloomsburg | FC Revolution, ODP |
| La Salle | Gabby Neal | So. | GK | Pennsburg | FC Delco |
| La Salle | Haley Gschrey | Jr. | F | Bethlehem | FC Revolution, ODP |
| La Salle | Emily Banashefski | Gr. | M/F | Stroudsburg | FC Pocono Elite/Keystone Athletic FC |
| La Salle | Caitlin Donovan | Sr. | F/M | Paoli | 1776 United FC |
| La Salle | Ricshya Walker | So. | F | Philadelphia | PDA South |
| La Salle | Justyce Hollenbach | So. | F | Harrisburg | Penn FC Youth, ODP |
| La Salle | Peyton Yocum | So. | M/F | Mifflinburg | North Union United |
| La Salle | Elizabeth Estrada | So. | MF | Reading | FC Revolution |
| Lehigh | Zoe Schutter | Jr. | MF | Orefield | Penn Fusion Academy, ODP |
| Lehigh | Aminah Baruwa | Fy. | F | Easton | PDA |
| Lehigh | Ava Schaller | Sr. | F | Schnecksville | Lehigh Valley United, ODP |
| Lehigh | Emma Roesing | Sr. | D/MF | Ambler | Penn Fusion Academy, ODP |
| Lehigh | Ryelle Shuey | Gr. | MF/F | Schaefferstown | |
| Lehigh | Hope Flanegin | Jr. | MF | Schwenskville | FC Delco |
| Lehigh | Carly Keene | Fy. | MF | Millersville | PA Classics |
| St. Joseph’s | Alivia Colgan | Fr. | D | Gettysburg | Keystone FC |
| St. Joseph’s | Lauren Hatt | Jr. | MF | Coatesville | Penn Fusion Academy |
| St. Joseph’s | Cheyenne McCloud | Fr. | D | Macungie | Penn Fusion Academy, ODP |
| St. Joseph’s | Chloe Oudin | So. | F/MF | Bethlehem | FC Delco, ODP |
| St. Joseph’s | Natalee Vicari | So. | F/MF | Sinking Spring | FC Delco |
| St. Joseph’s | Leah Buch | Fr. | D | Brownstown | PA Classics |
| St. Joseph’s | Maddie Anderson | Sr. | MF | Perkasie | FC Bucks |
Photo Credit: La Salle Athletics