Mid-Hudson quartet two wins from NCAA women's soccer Final Four
Four graduates from Varsity 845 schools are gathering in Scranton, Pennsylvania, this weekend with an opportunity to advance to the NCAA Division III women’s soccer Final Four.
Colleen Kinsella of Monroe-Woodbury and Maegan Allspach of Goshen are playing for Misericordia, the top-ranked team in the D3soccer.com poll. The Cougars (20-1) will take on William Smith (18-1-1) at 3:30 p.m.
Jessica Leatherbarrow of Burke Catholic and Emily Bannon of Minisink Valley are playing for Scranton (18-0-1). The Royals will host The College of New Jersey (18-0-2) at 1 p.m.
Both games will be available on Landmarknetwork.tv/Scranton/
Colleen Kinsella
A junior, Kinsella has come off the bench in 19 matches, averaging just over 28 minutes. She’s taken 19 shots and putting 10 on the cage. She scored goals against SUNY Cortland, Stevens Tech and in the NCAA opener against Bryn Athyn.
Coach Mark Stauffer has emphasized to Kinsella to play within herself and not try to do too much – besides, the Cougars have spread 90 goals through their lineup. The team emphasizes lots of movement and running and Kinsella fits in perfectly with her vision and “simplicity of play,’’ he said.
“She’s doing a great job and providing good minutes for us,’’ Stauffer said.
Kinsella was a three-time letter winner in soccer and lacrosse at Monroe-Woodbury.
Maegan Allspach
Allspach scored six goals as a freshman in 2019 before the team sat out 2020 due to COVID. She has started all 21 matches, averaging 50 minutes per. She has scored goals against SUNY Cortland, Nazareth and Wilkes, and has four assists. Twenty-four of her 52 shots have been on net.
A high-powered offense relies on Allspach to set up her other forwards.
“She’s a crafty, hardworking kid,’’ Stauffer said. “The flanker kids score a lot more goals than she does but those goals are created by the movements of Meg off the ball. Her work rate is tremendous. She doesn’t have huge numbers but she's an integral part to what it is that we do in our attacking phase of play.’’
At Goshen, Allspach was a 2016 Varsity 845 second-team all-star and sixth-team all-state in 2017.
Jessica Leatherbarrow
A senior forward, Leatherbarrow has been the Royals’ spark off the bench through 19 relief appearances. She has put 13 of her 19 shot attempts on net, scoring goals against Stevens Tech (a game-winner), Susquehanna, Drew and an NCAA win over Nazareth in the opening round.
“She’s been able to step up big in big moments,’’ said coach Colleen Pivirotto. “I think she brings a lot of energy off the bench, with her work ethic and her speed up top.’’
A two-time team captain for Burke Catholic, she produced 67 goals and 31 assists for the Eagles, who won the Section 9 Class B title in 2014. She earned four letters at Burke.
Emily Bannon
A freshman forward, Bannon also provides a spark off the bench. She scored a goal against Goucher last month and has five assists, including one against Nazareth in the NCAA opener.
“Emily is super athletic and very, very fast,’’ Pivirotto said. “Her speed is just really difficult to deal with for other teams.’’
Bannon played varsity golf, track and field, basketball and soccer for Minisink Valley. The Warriors won Section 9 titles in fall 2019 and spring 2021, and she earned all-section honors both seasons.
kmcmillan@th-record.com
Twitter: @KenMcMillanTHR
This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Soccer stars from Minisink, Monroe, Burke, Goshen head to NCAA playoffs
