Field Hockey | August 24, 2023

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - The La Salle field hockey team kicks off the 2023 season against City 5 rivals Temple and Drexel over the weekend.  

The Explorers will travel to the Owls on Friday, Aug. 25 for a 6 p.m. showdown streaming live on ESPN+. La Salle will then turnaround on Sunday, Aug. 27 to take on the Dragons at 12 p.m. with the game streaming live on FloLive.  

Fans can also follow along on the action by following the team on X @LaSalleFH and Instagram @lasallefh.  

SCOUTING THE EXPLORERS:  

• La Salle returns following an 8-11 record with a 3-4 mark in conference play for the 2022 season. The Explorers are under the instruction of interim head coach Katie Bam while head coach Martu Loncarica is out on leave for the beginning of the season. A full release detailing the matters of the leave can be found here. Former team manager and alumna of the program, Meghan Robinson, returns as the assistant coach this season.  

• Atlantic 10 Preseason All-Conference selection Tatum Johnson returns at forward for the Explorers. The senior led the team in goals (14) and assists (5) last season. Her 33 total points tied the program high.  

• Sofia Pla also returns to anchor the backfield for the Explorer. The 2022 A-10 All-Conference Second Team member played and started in all 19 contests last year and ranked third on the team in goals with three. 

• Malena Balduzzi joins Pla on the defense for her sophomore season. The freshman earned the nod from the A-10 in 2022 on the All-Rookie team. The Argentina native played and started in all 19 contests while tying first on the team in assists and ranking fourth in shots firing off 18 total.  

• Ryan Curley also returns for her senior season. The goalkeeper played in 18 games last season allowing just 36 goals while totaling 79 saves off 194 shots faced. She recorded eight wins and four total shutouts. Additionally, she notched a career-high nine saves in the contest against Villanova (9/25).  

• The Explorers welcome 10 newcomers to the roster this season featuring five freshman and one graduate transfer. 

SCOUTING THE OWLS:  

• Temple returns the majority of its starting lineup from last season. The Owls welcome six freshmen and three graduate transfers to the 2023 roster.  

• Tess Muller returns for Temple and was named to the Preseason All-Conference Team. Muller saw action in 19 games with 18 starts. She ranked second on the team in goals including sinking the game-winner against Drexel (10/2).  

• Temple is coming off of its best season in almost a decade with the Owls cracking the NFHCA rankings at No. 24 in 2022 for the first time since 2014. The squad finished the year ranked No. 23 and qualified for the BIG EAST Tournament for the third-straight year.  

SCOUTING THE DRAGONS:  

• Drexel will take on the Explorers following their season-opener against Bucknell on Friday, Aug. 25.  

• The Dragons are coming off of a 12-8 season with a 3-3 mark in conference play. The team advanced to the second round of the CAA Tournament ultimately being knocked out by a 6-1 loss to Delaware.  

• Eline Di Leva and Megan Hadfield were both voted to the Preseason All-CAA team. Di Leva led the Dragons last season in goals with 10, including a critical game-winner against No. 20 Willian & Mary in an overtime 1-0 victory.  

• Di Leva ended the 2022 season with a spot on the All-CAA First Team and NFHCA Mid-Atlantic Region Second Team.  

• Hadfield enters her graduate season with a .661 save percentage and 323 total career saves ranking eighth in program history. In 2022, she started in all 20 contests and held a 1.98 goals-against average.