The University of Scranton student-athletes and the Athletic Department delivered another successful fall season, which included three Landmark Conference Championships, three NCAA Tournament appearances and an individual NCAA Championship qualifier.
This marks the second consecutive fall that the Royals have seen at least three teams advance to the NCAA Tournament after field hockey, volleyball and women’s soccer did so a year ago.
“I’m very proud of the way our student-athletes competed and represented us throughout the fall season. All of our fall teams provided us with exciting moments and memories! They have certainly set the standard for our winter and spring
sports,” Executive Director of Athletics Dave Martin said.
Women's Soccer and Volleyball
For the Royals, the women’s soccer team advanced to a second straight Sweet 16 against Bowdoin College and Westfield State University, while the volleyball team earned a second consecutive at-large bid to NCAAs and notched the second tournament victory in program history with a 3-0 win over St. John Fisher University.
Men's Soccer
The men’s soccer program also advanced to the NCAA Tournament when they captured the Landmark title as the No. 4 seed via consecutive 1-0 shutout victories over Catholic University and Elizabethtown College.
Elsewhere in Landmark competition, it was a third consecutive conference title for the women’s soccer program, and they did so in dramatic fashion. The team scored game-winning goals in overtime of the semifinals against Catholic University, and with just 13 seconds left in the title game versus Drew University.
Women's Cross Country
The women’s cross country team also won the second Landmark title in program history as they edged out Elizabethtown College by just one point. Graduate student Jessica Hoffmann became the third student-athlete in the history of the conference to be named Performer of the Year on two different occasions.
Two weeks later, Hoffmann posted a second-place finish at NCAA Mideast Regionals to become the first two-time NCAA qualifier in women’s cross country program history. At the NCAA Championships in East Lansing, Mich., the Millington, New Jersey native earned All-American honors by virtue of a program-best 29th place finish, which was 13 spots ahead of her 42nd place finish in 2021.
