W-League Feature
Friday, August 23, 2013
The Women’s College Soccer season kicks off on Friday, with a number of W-League standouts set to be featured on national television during the weekend. Players from the 2013 champion Pali Blues, as well as the Long Island Rough Riders, North Jersey Valkyries, LA Strikers and Colorado Rush will all be featured as they try to get their respective schools off to winning starts.
The Blues’ Sarah Killion will be among those expected to lead the way for No. 5 UCLA this season, and the Bruins open the season with a pair of games that can be seen on the Pac-12 Network. Killion, who had two goals and eight assists for the Blues this summer, will be joined by Pali teammates Samantha Mewis, Jenna Richmond and Abby Dahlkemper, with the Bruins set to face Northeastern on Friday evening at 9 p.m. ET, and then Cal State Northridge, who will feature the LA Strikers’ Chloe McDaniel and Leandra Walker, on Sunday, 9 p.m. ET.
Another member of the Blues’ championship-winning side will begin her season on the east coast, with No. 3 Florida State set to host Auburn in a big inter-conference contest on ESPN3 on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. ET. Defender Kassey Kallman is expected to play a big role for the Seminoles this season as they seek to return to the College Cup, and she will be part of a back line that plays in front of former Colorado Rush goalkeeper Kelsey Wys, who earlier this week was named to the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List.
ESPN3 is also the place to see a pair of games from St. John’s this weekend that see former Long Island Rough Riders teammates go head-to-head as the Red Storm host Delaware on Friday night at 7 p.m. ET and Fordham on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. St. John’s is hoping for big things from senior defender Hailey Hemmer, who made nine appearances for the Rough Riders this past summer as she recorded a goal and an assist.
The Blue Hens, meanwhile, are hoping for good performances from defender Dianna Marinaro, who appeared 10 times for Long Island this summer, and Andrea Arnold. The North Jersey Valkyries’ Rachel Vaccaro could also feature as she enters her junior season.