Rita Offutt, Editor
This article provides a summary of recent athletic events, based on reports and social media posts by La Salle Athletics. For more information, follow La Salle Athletics on Instagram at @goexplorers or by visiting this website.
La Salle Men’s Water Polo beat Iona College on Feb. 21, marking the first home victory in the program’s history. A second match against Iona on Feb. 22 was the team’s second consecutive win this season, giving them a 2-1 record going into the remainder of the season. While many players are still disappointed about La Salle’s Sept. 2020 decision to cut seven athletic programs, including Men’s Water Polo, La Salle Athletics continues to highlight student victories.
La Salle Men’s Basketball will play their final home game of the season on Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. Leading up to the final game, the Explorers have an overall record of 8-14. The end-of-the-season game against Duquesne will air on ESPN+, but before tipoff, the Explorers will celebrate senior night. David Beatty and Scott Spencer are the program’s senior members, both of whom joined the team in 2018.
On Feb. 23, La Salle Athletics announced Men’s Baseball finalized the 2021 roster. Men’s Baseball has been engaged in funding efforts since Oct. 2020, working with alumnus James Santore on the Save La Salle Baseball campaign. Part of the effort includes the creation of the La Salle Legends Foundation and a partnership with Dave Portnoy, the founder of Barstool Sports. Although the University has not made an official statement regarding the fate of the program, Men’s Baseball is welcoming nine freshman students and one transfer student. According to La Salle Athletics’ News page, “The freshman class is ranked inside Perfect Game’s Top 100 recruiting classes, marking the third consecutive nationally-ranked class for La Salle.”
Women’s Soccer played a record-breaking game against Delaware State University on Feb. 22. The game, which was a shutout against Delaware State held at Alumni Stadium in Dover, set the team records for the number of points scored and the number of goals scored in a single game. For reference, the Explorers totaled 13 goals and 37 points. Senior Amirah Louketis scored 3 of the teams’ 13 points and freshman Madison McCready tied the existing record with 3 assists.
La Salle’s volleyball team beat George Washington University in their second game of the season on Feb. 20. The victory sets the team up with a 2-0 record, and it is the first time in five years that the Explorers have started the season with two consecutive wins. After the game, head coach Andrew Kroger told La Salle Athletics, “After finding a way to win on Friday with gritty and scrappy play, the team really stepped up and executed at a much higher level today. Offensively, [they] really stepped up their level of play from Friday and provided a balance to our offense that gave [George Washington] fits. Meanwhile Isa Lopez continues to prove herself to be one of the best liberos in the A10. Her rock-solid serve receive and incredible defense is an absolute game changer.”
Information about upcoming games, team statistics, and player highlights can be found at www.goexplorers.com.
The La Salle Collegian 