I’m a Villanova homer so I of course like this IL article
Always rooting for the underdog so hoping all of these 5 teams have a great season!With the new season on the horizon, the ILWomen team started talking about teams that were on the brink last year. These teams were close to newfound success and returned several key pieces in '24, so they fit the criteria for who we felt was "under the radar" coming into this spring.
Here are five to watch:
Binghamton (11-6)
The Bearcats come off a historic 2023 season of program bests: most conference wins (5-1), season wins (11), and consecutive wins (7). Coach Stephanie Allen seems to have all the field pieces to return to the America East Tournament. Binghamton rallied in the second quarter of the AE Championship, tying UAlbany at 6 before falling short by a goal in the final minutes. The Bearcats return a handful of standouts; leading that pack is senior midfielder Hayley Weltner, who tallied 102 draw controls (6 per game) and secured a new single-season record for the program. In addition to Weltner, Binghamton returns Abigail Carroll (43G, 11A), Olivia Muscolino (38G, 15A), and Angelina Suau (46GB, 39CT). Allen will have to determine who will fill the shoes of 2023 graduate and goalkeeper Emily Manning.
East Carolina (10-8)
The Pirates were close to a breakthrough in 2023—coming down to the wire against top teams, but never were able to fully seal the deal. Close games against Duke, North Carolina, and Florida showed that ECU can play with national powerhouses, and with several returning starters including Frances Kimel (42G, 29A) and Erin Gulden (22G, 14A) to lead the offense and Alexandra Giacolone (46GB, 25CT) on the defensive end. With an entirely new staff in place from a season ago, it’ll be interesting to see how the Pirates’ 2024 season plays out.
Penn State (11-7)
In a conference as deep as the Big Ten, it’s easy to be a “sleeper” team. While the Nittany Lions advanced to the playoffs in 2023, they had an early exit to Stony Brook in the first round. Penn State is not short on talent, though, but they did struggle with key injuries down the stretch, namely Gretchen Gilmore, who will return post-injury this spring. Along with Gilmore’s return are longtime standout and leading scorer Kristin O’Neill (51G, 8A) and lockdown defender Ellie Hollin (54GB, 29CT, 20DC).
UAlbany (13-7)
The Great Danes pulled off one of the bigger upsets of the year, entering the NCAA Tournament unranked—qualifying via the America East AQ— and topping Virginia in the first round before falling to Denver 8-6. While some key starters have graduated, they return their biggest star in Katie Pascale, UAlbany’s career leader in points and assists, along with invaluable experience of winning big games in May. With the big splash the Danes made in the postseason, they may not be completely under the radar in the same sense as the other teams on this list. However, their earned experience last year could help them take the next step to pull off some additional big wins in the regular season.
Villanova (11-6)
Head coach Jill Batcheller enters her third season at the helm, and each season she’s made significant improvements to the Villanova trajectory. Posting six more wins in 2023 than the season prior, the Wildcats have the potential to be an even bigger threat in the Big East this spring. They return their leading scorer and All-Big East Co-Attacker of the Year Sydney Pappas (52G, 12A) along with several other key starters, including Sami Carey (26G, 29A) and Kayla Gulmi (10G, 30A).
(And they don’t even mention Elena Torres (redshirt freshman) who was on track to have an amazing rookie season last year before getting injured. Excited to see what she can do this season!)