Significant changes in the Mount St. Joseph Academy soccer team have been brought about owing to events that happened earlier in the calendar year; the departure of the class of 2020 and the arrival of COVID-19.

Graduation last spring claimed eight players off of the 2019 roster, including all-league striker Madison Hornig and a multi-year starter in goal, Gina Sassane.

Bill Naydan, the Mount's head coach since 2016, has been forced to step aside this fall due to health conditions that make him particularly susceptible to the Coronavirus. Also a member of the mathematics faculty at the Mount, Naydan has been teaching remotely since school opened. The Mount has combined on-site and virtual instruction for the fall semester.

Fortunately, the MSJ booters have two familiar returning coaches to pilot the team. Lisa Roman is a 2013 graduate of the Mount who went on to play for Marquette University. David McCauley played collegiate soccer at Penn State Hazelton, and like Roman he has a good deal of club coaching experience.

They are joined this fall by another coach used to guiding youth soccer programs, Elaine Byerley. She played at Bishop Shanahan High School before joining the program at Temple University.

The Magic's leaders on the field will be senior tri-captains Emily Friel, Cayla Higginson, and Ava Picofazzi.

The other seniors who are returning varsity players are Tara Boyd, Emily Jones, Cam Mailey, and Alex Ritter, and classmate Megan Braun is joining them this season. Current juniors Kate Kelly and Paige Metzler also spent time with the varsity squad last year.

With Jones, Mailey, Picofazzi, and Ritter all listed as defenders, the Magic will have experience in the back. Braun is a forward and Higginson is a midfielder, while Friel and Boyd can be employed as forwards or midfielders. Up front, the Magic will need to find a way to replace the output of the graduated Hornig.

Kelly, the junior, can play in the midfield and on defense.

One of the seniors, Metzler is among the four goalies who are being rotated through the cage in the early stages of the season. The other girls appearing in the nets are junior Sam Ammons and sophomores Giana Argano and Kiki Fox.

The varsity roster also includes juniors Delaney Mattson (F/M), Katie McGovern (F/M), and Anna Shields (D), and the sophomores are Sophia D'Alanzo (M), Kate Donovan (D), Meghan Hughes (M), Meg Kelemick (F), Grace Kussay (M), and Kate Vyzaniarius (D). The lone freshman to make the varsity roster is Kelsey McGovern (M), the sister of Katie McGovern.