Women’s Soccer
After clinching their third Atlantic East Conference title, the Pacers earned an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, being selected to face the University of Scranton. Making the brief trip downtown, Marywood fell behind shortly after kick off. The Royals would strike twice more in the following 30 minutes, putting the Pacers in a deep hole. Though Josephine Sorce was able to trim the deficit to two with a first half buzzer beating goal, it would be the only spark offensively for Marywood, being eliminated by a final of 3-1.
Marywood finishes its season with a final record of 15-4-2, tying the program record for most wins in a single season, set in 2010.
Though Marywood’s season ended earlier than they would’ve liked, a multitude of Pacers ended the season with hardware and honors from the Atlantic East Conference. Sorce secured AEC Offensive Player of the Year, after leading Marywood in goals (16), assists (14), shots (102), shots on goal (55) and game winners (4). Transfer defender Britlyn Higgins earned AEC Defensive Player of the Year, as Marywood set a new program record of time without conceding a goal, nearing 950 consecutive minutes.
Sorce and Higgins also made the Atlantic East All Conference First Team, along with senior forward Riley Mulherin, freshman goalkeeper Jenna Orr, freshman midfielder Maura Kirkpatrick, junior forward Caroline Walters and junior defender Carly Walters. Freshman defender Faith Meals was the lone Pacer on the Atlantic East All Conference Second Team.
Field Hockey
After making quick work in the Atlantic East Conference, sweeping the regular season and postseason, Marywood earned a bid to the national tournament, drawing Johns Hopkins University in the first round. Despite the Pacers’ success throughout the year, Marywood was dominated by the fifth-ranked Blue Jays, allowing six goals, while only mustering one shot, ending the season in unceremonious fashion.
Marywood matched its win total from a season ago, finishing 14-7.
Several Pacers were honored within the conference, as graduate forward Cydney Lahr was named Atlantic East Conference Player of the Year, after setting a new program record for goals scored in a single season with 22, just a year after falling one goal short. Corrin Hasty was named the Atlantic East Conference’s Elite 20 player, which goes to the student-athlete with the highest GPA competing in the conference championship.
Along with those honors, Hasty and Lahr were named to the Atlantic East All Conference First Team. The duo was accompanied by senior forward Lany Straub, graduate transfer Maria Tomada, junior midfielder Dariane Jones and senior midfielder Cassie Slusser. The Pacers also had a representative on the Atlantic East All Conference second team, as Aliyah Heintzelman was nominated.
Men’s Basketball
After the two-day tournament at the University of Scranton, Marywood returned to campus for its home opener, hosting Penn State Hazleton. The Nittany Lions opened the game on an 8-1 run, before Marywood clawed back, eventually taking the lead into halftime.
Marywood kept Penn State Hazleton at arm’s length until late in the second half, with the teams tied at 61 with under five minutes left of regulation. Junior forward Shilo Bivens scored eight of Marywood’s final 10 points to help edge the Nittany Lions, 71-68.
Bivens led the pack with 16 points, setting a career high, while graduate guard Corey Perkins brought in seven rebounds and assisted seven Marywood makes.
Women’s Basketball
Marywood split its first pair of away games, before returning to Scranton for its home opener against Rutgers-Newark. Marywood was stellar in the first half, scoring 48 points, while bullying the Scarlet Raiders offense, taking a hefty lead into the break.
The second half was a complete 180, as the offensive efficiency plummeted for Marywood, as Rutgers-Newark shrunk the lead. Despite the drastic change in the game, the Pacers’ first half lead was too insurmountable, clinching head coach Tara Macciocco’s first win at Marywood in nearly 2,500 days, 77-67. Rachel McDonald fell just short of her career high, scoring 22 points, draining five three-point attempts.
Just two days later, Marywood was back at it, hosting Juniata College. Unlike the first home game, Marywood’s offense stayed in the locker room in the first half, though its defense made up for the lackluster performance on the other end, as the Pacers took a six-point lead into halftime.
The Eagles were able to briefly claim the lead in the third quarter, before Marywood stole it back heading into the fourth. Marywood finally pieced together some offensive effectiveness, hitting four shots from beyond the arc, three of which were from junior transfer Megan Cavoli. The spark catapulted Marywood to its second consecutive 10-point home victory, 63-53.
Cavoli was exceptional in her second game at Insalaco Arena, finishing the afternoon with 18 points, six rebounds and six assists. Mia Blume and Olivia Ciullo contributed solid performances as well, with Blume setting season highs, with 10 points and eight rebounds, while Ciullo totaled nine points and 14 rebounds.
Volleyball
Finishing the regular season as the third seed in the AEC, Marywood was tasked with traveling to Neumann University in the semifinals of the playoffs. The Pacers rallied in the first set, though a late six-point streak for the Knights would sink Marywood.
Sets two and three were uncompetitive, with the Pacers failing to exceed double digits, as the Pacers were swept out of Aston, Pa.
Marywood finished its season 8-20, going 4-2 in regular season conference play.
Men’s Cross County
Following its sixth straight Atlantic East Conference championship, Marywood competed in NCAA regionals, along with 28 other schools. Similarly to a year ago, Marywood finished on the podium, coming in third behind Carnegie Mellon and Johns Hopkins University. Two Marywood Pacers earned bids to the NCAA championship from their performances. Jack Baronski set a new program record for fastest 8k run, finishing the race in 24 minutes and 29.4 seconds, good for fourth in the meet. Bryce Ryder was just over six seconds behind Baronski, finishing seventh.
Women’s Cross Country
Also competing in regionals, Marywood finished 19th of 30 schools racing in the meet. Leading the herd of Pacers was Lany Straub, finishing the race in 22 minutes and 10.2 seconds, good for 27th on the afternoon. The next nearest Pacer was Paige Redman, finishing in just under 24 minutes.
All stats are from MarywoodPacers.com as of Nov. 17.
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