Women's Soccer | August 15, 2018

PHILADELPHIA - The defending Atlantic 10 champion La Salle University women's soccer team opens up the 2018 season on the road at Atlantic Coast Conference foe Syracuse on Thursday. Kickoff from SU Soccer Stadium is set for 6:00 p.m., with the contest airing live on the ACC Network Extra Digital Network and Watch ESPN.

NEWS & NOTES
•The Explorers are coming off a spectacular 2017 campaign which saw them match a single-season record with 17 wins and earn the program's fifth trip to the NCAA Tournament.
•Featuring an explosive offense that scored 48 goals (which ranked ninth in the NCAA last season), La Salle breezed through Atlantic 10 play with an unbeaten 9-0-1 record.
•Sisters Madison and Maci Bower enter their senior campaigns as the top returning scorers on the team. Madison was a Preseason First Team All-Atlantic 10 selection after scoring 11 goals and pacing the conference with 31 points last year.
•Maci Bower totaled 10 goals last year and was a Second Team All-Atlantic 10 honoree in 2017.
•Also returning for the Explorers are 2017 Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team selections Amirah Louketis and Jenna Soriano, as well as another second-team choice, defender Taylor Newhart.
•Five starters graduated from last year's A-10 championship team, including four-year starter Kristin Haugstad and A-10 Tournament MVP Larisa Zambelli.
•Haugstad paced the team with 10 assist from her midfield position and ranked second with 28 points.
•Zambelli had a fine senior season for the Explorers, posting 11 shutouts from her goalkeeper position and matching the A-10 championship-match record with 14 saves en route to MVP honors.
•Head coach Paul Royal was named the Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year in 2017, marking the fourth time in his 15-year career he has won the award.
•Royal has compiled 159 wins over his La Salle tenure, more than all three of the program's prior coaches combined (101).

BOWER RANGERS 
•Sisters Madison and Maci Bower were a dynamic offensive duo last season for La Salle.
•The duo combined for 21 goals and 13 assists, and enter the 2018 season as the most potent offensive one-two punch in the league.
•The pair connected on one of the most memorable goals in program history last year, as Madison backheeled a pass to Maci for the game-winning goal in overtime against VCU in the Atlantic 10 Championship game.
•The play was featured on ESPN's SportsCenter and was the No. 1 play of the week in the NCAA.

BACK LINE CONNECTION
•Redshirt junior Marcela Robinson and senior Chloe Lewis will likely pair as the starting central defenders in the season opener against Syracuse.
•Robinson started all 23 matches a season ago, while Lewis played in 23 contests and started 20.
•Lewis played primarily on the outside in 2017 but will shift inside this season after the graduation of All-Atlantic 10 First Teamer Paige McDowell.
•Robinson and Lewis both hail from the Baltimore area in Maryland and were club teammates with Premier Soccer Club Baltimore 97.

AUSSIE IN NET FOR 2018
•Sophomore Claudia Jenkins will be the primary goalkeeper for the Explorers in 2018.
•After serving as a backup to graduate and current assistant Larisa Zambelli, Jenkins is primed for a big role in net.
•Jenkins saw action in four contests last year, allowing just one goal and combining with Zambelli on a pair of shutouts.
•Jenkins is one of two players on La Salle's roster that hail from Australia (freshman Alyssa Van Heurck).

SLEW OF NEWCOMERS READY TO COMPETE
•Head coach Paul Royal welcomed seven n ewcomers to the roster for the 2018 season.
•Camaren Cox, Jillian DeSantis, Isabella Gonsiewski, Katie Hoffman, Rilee Keenan and Alyssa Van Heurck will commence their college careers this fall, while sophomore Molly O'Brien makes her way to Philadelphia after spending her freshman season at Loyola (Md.).
"After losing five major impact players and coming of one of our most memorable seasons, we're very optimistic about the potential this group brings us," Royal said. "This class is highly competitive and will not only provide the quality depth we'll need but also have the chance to make significant impacts throughout this season. They've all played in some big moments throughout their club years and we believe they'll quickly adjust to the tempo and pressure of the college game."

LOOKING BACK AT 2017
•La Salle was picked to finish 10th in the preseason poll by the league's coaches prior to the 2017 season.
•The Explorers flipped the script, going undefeated in league competition to win the program's fourth regular-season title.
•La Salle took home two thrilling overtime wins in the Atlantic 10 Championship, including a virtual road game against VCU (game played in Richmond, Va.).
•The team would go on to play Rutgers in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, falling to the Scarlet Knights, 3-1.