Aug. 25, 2009
2009 Videos
PHILADELPHIA - Between a pair of thunderstorms that passed through the area on Saturday, La Salle Women's Soccer continued its preparations for Tuesday's season-opener at Drexel - a slated 7 PM kickoff - with its annual Alumnae Match.
The Explorers - with 10 seniors on the team - are posed to make a run at the Atlantic 10 Championships for the third time in six years. With the disappointment of last year - missing the postseason on a tiebreaker rule - the seniors have some extra motivation for one more push at an A-10 berth.
La Salle returns two-time All-Conference Second Team selection and 2009 Preseason All-Conference First Team honoree Traci DePasquale for her final season in the Blue and Gold.
The midfielder played in all 20 games in 2008 and led the team with 10 assists, tied for the second-most ever in a single season at the school and tied for 26th in the nation in per game average (0.50).
She was also tied with forward Dana O'Brien for the team lead with 20 points, while finishing fourth in goals (5), shots (36), and shots on goal (17). DePasquale finished the year ranking sixth all-time at La Salle in career goals (20) and career points (58), and fifth all-time in career assists (18).
The 2008 A-10 All-Rookie, O'Brien, punched in a team-high nine goals for the Blue and Gold with two assists. Overall, the team returns seven of their top eight scorers and of the 105 points registered by the 2008 squad, all but 18 points return. That includes Melanie Gamble - who scored eight goals - and Heather Steadman - who added six assists.
On the defensive side, La Salle features another 2008 A-10 All-Rookie Jess Hopton along with a plethora of experienced seniors in Ally Kenney, Lauren Barker, Sara Copare, Carissa Philips and Becky McGuigan.
Returning in net will be junior Melissa Sanger, who started 17 games and posted eight wins, four shutouts and a 1.49 goals allowed average.
As far as the Alumnae game, a video of some highlights - as well as other preseason videos - can be viewed by clicking on the link above. La Salle Women's Soccer and especially the coaching staff would like to thank those individuals who made the trip back to 20th and Olney to assist in the preparations for the 2009 season.
Those participating included: Class of 2004 Liz Schmidt and Courtney White; Class of 2005 Shannon Plunkett and Kerry (Schamberger) Vitolano; Class of 2006 Alissa Franchini and Alexis Petrucci; Class of 2007 Ashley Cassel, Kelly Lyons, and Shelby Reese; Class of 2008 Kim Lisun; and Class of 2009 Amy Grant. Also in attendance was Class of 2003's Amy Schneider and Danni Wilson.
