BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- With a solid group of upperclassmen, the Moravian College women's soccer team looks to compete for a Landmark Conference playoff berth this fall.

After a strong start to his coaching career at Moravian last season, Head coach Jeff Ykoruk looks to build upon the solid foundation laid by his upperclassmen. He has 14 returning letter winners, a group that includes nine starters from last fall's 7-10-1 squad. The Hounds will be led by senior captain Melissa Pavia and senior captain Catherine Lamplugh, along with help from junior midfield/forward Valentina Margiottiello and junior defender Christine Miklas.

"We have a good group of girls who came into camp in great condition, and we plan on using this to our advantage," commented Ykoruk. "We are going to try to wear teams down, play the full 90 minutes. This year we have a very deep roster with many good players, which becomes helpful when we need to rotate players in and out."

Looking to build upon her three goal and two assist season is Margiottiello. Alongside of her helping in the attack is Pavia, who added one goal and two assists last season. One player to watch out for in the attack according to Ykoruk is freshman Gabby Stelzmiller.

On the defensive end of the field, the Greyhounds return most of their starters from a year ago including sophomore defender Lauren Bertucci who played in 16 games last season, and was selected to the Landmark Conference All-Conference Second Team. Also returning on defense for the Hounds are Miklas, and senior Marlene Lopes, as well as senior defender/midfielder Taylor Blake, who have shined over there playing careers. Blake contributed two goals and two assists last season.

Senior goalkeeper Jacqueline Zalis played in all eighteen matches last year for the Greyhounds, racking up 67 saves in nearly 1,500 minutes of playing time, along with boasting a 1.39 goals against average. Also returning is sophomore Jessica Lawton to play in net after seeing some playing time as a freshman.

Moravian will begin its 2015 campaign on Tuesday, September 1 in a non-conference match at Arcadia University. The Hounds will play three straight road games before their home season opener on Saturday, September 12 versus Ursinus College on the HUB Quad at noon.