PHILADELPHIA – The Saint Joseph's women's soccer team opens its season on Thursday, August 14 when it travels to Hempstead, N.Y. to take on the Hofstra Pride. The Hawks were selected fifth in the Atlantic 10 preseason poll.
 
"We are truly excited about what our team is bringing this year," said head coach Jess Mannella. "The players have worked very hard to lock in on our style of play and create a team culture that we believe will lead to our success!"
 

Graduate student Chloe Khelil returns to anchor a back line after starting 50 matches and logging more than 4,400 minutes in the past three seasons. Also returning are graduate students Maggie Anderson and Dani Stuart, who have each held down starting roles in previous seasons for the Hawks. Sophomore Ashley Rhodes is back in the fold following a year where she appeared in 18 matches, starting 10 of them.
 
Multiple players are looking to have bigger impacts after seeing limited time during the past couple of years. Aubrey Beaugard, Leah Buch, Alivia Colgan, Olivia Mancini, Jailyn Parrotte and Aaniyah Street all return for SJU. Joining the team is Erin Seabrook who was a PSCA All-State honoree as a senior at Upper Dublin.
 

The center of the pitch will be a mix of experience and youth as returning starters Sarah Fisher and Gracie Salais are joined once again by Olivia Benzing, Nicole Everard, Juliette Muro and Jayda Shehadi. Fisher was an All-Atlantic 10 Rookie Team selection and tied for the team lead in points last season with 14 (6G, 2A). All six played in at least 12 matches in 2024 and the group combined for 10 goals and seven assists last year. Kayla D'Ottaviano is also back after appearing in seven matches last year.
 
Several newcomers look to bolster the midfield, led by Chelsea Leal, who was a four-time All-League honoree at St. John's Prep High School out of New York. Valentina Nardone was an All-State selection at Virginia Academy. Lila Conroy has international experience on the U16 and U17 teams for the Republic of Ireland. Ava Heil was named a top-50 player in Virginia by Top Drawer Soccer and Lina Wilks was the top goal scorer in New Jersey as a junior at Bridgeton High School.
 

Last year's leading goal scorer, Emily Hanrahan comes back for her junior season after finding the back of the net seven times last season. She begins the year within reach of the Saint Joseph's career top-10 in goals.
 
Joining Hanrahan up front are Kerri Jackson and Natalee Vicari, each of whom started at least 10 matches last season. Izzy Newton looks to take on an increased role in the coming year.
 

Arguably the biggest hole for the Hawks to fill is between the pipes with the graduation of Katie Cappelletti, who played all but five minutes in goal between 2022 and 2024. The late addition of graduate transfer Alli Popham from Colgate brings some experience, as she appeared in 36 matches, making 30 starts in the last two seasons with a 1.46 goals against average for the Raiders.
 
Also returning for the Hawks are Sage Baillargeon and Peyton Radwanski.
 

SJU challenges itself out of the gate with games against some traditional CAA powers in Hofstra, Drexel and Towson as well as a matchup against BIG EAST foe, St. John's. Rider, Temple, Penn and FDU are also on the non-conference slate along with a traditionally rigorous A-10 schedule.
 
The Atlantic 10 Championship takes place October 31 through November 9 with all games being played at the campus site of the higher seed.