Starting in 2025, women’s flag football will officially become the 23rd varsity sport at Marywood University, as announced by athletic director Andrew Smith. This marks the second local college to adopt the expanding sport, following Keystone College’s announcement in October to introduce women’s flag football in 2025. Women’s flag football is set to be an […]
Starting in 2025, women’s flag football will officially become the 23rd varsity sport at Marywood University, as announced by athletic director Andrew Smith.
This marks the second local college to adopt the expanding sport, following Keystone College’s announcement in October to introduce women’s flag football in 2025.
Women’s flag football is set to be an official event at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Recently, the PIAA recognized the sport, with 66 high schools preparing to compete in the 2025-26 season. The NFL strongly endorses flag football, with teams like the Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers actively promoting it through their events and clinics.
The Pacers will begin as a club team in the spring of 2025 before joining the Atlantic East Conference, which became the first NCAA conference to recognize varsity women’s flag football last year. A one-day championship tournament took place in April, featuring four teams: Centenary University, Immaculata University, Neumann University, and Marymount University, which claimed the inaugural championship title. In the following spring, Eastern University and Holy Family University will enter the Atlantic East as associate members for women’s flag football.
In addition, Keystone will field a club team in the spring of 2025 before transitioning to varsity status in the United East Conference in the spring of 2026, joining Gallaudet University, Lancaster Bible College, Penn College, and Rosemont College.
Women’s flag football is sponsored by four NCAA conferences: the Atlantic East and United East in Division III, along with Conference Carolinas and Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association in Division II.
Soccer stars
Niamh Healy, a graduate student from the University of Scranton, received first-team All-American honors from the United Soccer Coaches after being a second-team selection last year. She becomes the fourth player in the program’s history to achieve this distinction twice.
A midfielder hailing from Orangeburg, New York, Healy contributed to the Royals achieving a 19-2-2 record this season, clinching the Landmark Conference championship, and advancing to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Division III tournament. She recorded 38 points with 17 goals and four assists, including nine game-winning goals, which ranked her second in the nation.
Healy wraps up her career with the fourth-highest rank in program history for goals (57) and points (128), with 25 of her goals being game-winners.
She was also among five Scranton athletes to receive USC All-Region V accolades. Freshman defender Aileen Carr joined her on the first team, while senior goalkeeper Nicole Olson, graduate midfielder Mary Haggerty, and graduate forward Claire Mulholland earned second-team honors.
Marywood University’s graduate defender Britlyn Higgins made the All-Region V third team.
On the men’s side for Scranton, junior defender Logan Campbell was named to the USC All-Region V first team, while senior forward Ciaran Carr earned a spot on the fourth team.
Field hockey honors
Marywood University’s head coach Julie Trott, along with assistant coach Kaitlyn Bevans, received recognition from the National Field Hockey Coaches Association as the Region IV co-Coaching Staff of the Year, sharing this honor with Rowan University.
This season, under Trott and Bevans’ leadership, the Pacers posted a 14-7 record, secured their second Atlantic East Conference title, and made their second appearance in the NCAA tournament. They achieved a school record with 80 goals and ranked in the top 20 nationally for several categories, including penalty corners per game (12.15, seventh); goals per game (3.81, ninth); scoring average (3.77, 11th); points per game (9.62, 12th); and scoring margin (2.12, 18th).
Additionally, three Marywood players earned NFHCA All-Region honors for the first time. Graduate students Cydney Lahr and Maria Tomada were named to the Region IV first team, while junior Dariane Jones was recognized on the second team.
Lahr, who was a second-team selection last year, was named Atlantic East Player of the Year this season, breaking single-season records with 22 goals and 51 points, as well as career goals with 52. Tomada, who was previously a first-team player at Keystone, contributed 18 goals and 43 points for Marywood. Jones, a graduate of Lackawanna Trail, tallied 17 goals and 10 assists for a total of 44 points.
The University of Scranton also saw three players honored with NFHCA accolades in Region V. Graduate forward Katie Redding was selected for the first team, while graduate forward Bridget Abraldes and senior defender Lauren Franco made the second team.
