Veteran leaders look to push IUN women’s soccer
GARY, Ind. – The Indiana University Northwest women’s soccer team returns nine juniors and seniors from last season as the group looks to push the RedHawks to the postseason for the first time in program history.
Defensive Leadership
On the back end of the field, IUN is bringing back goalie Isabel Escalera, defenders Elise Mundo Sweet, Asia Garcia, Amber Handley, Olivia Hansen and Abigail Heintz, along with sophomore Gianna Witte. The group helped shutout four opponents last season, which includes three straight whitewashings.
The RedHawks added freshman goalie Olivia Oman, defenders Brooke Chandler, sophomore Marisa Paredes and junior Nora Loebbert to the lineup.
New Faces in the middle
The middle of the field will see five newcomers in the mix for playing time as Daisy Bonilla, Jianna Church, Allison Farmer, Salome Hernandez and Xiomara Santana don the RedHawks uniform for the first time.
The midfield returnees this season are Kendal Carrubba, Mariah Dickerson, Olivia Montes and Kayla Ziel, who allowed opponents to have just a .107 shot percentage.
The Play Up Front
Brynn Nylin and Zoey Wells, along with Erin Harrison are the leaders up front. Nylin has played in 51 career games and has scored six times, while Wells and Harrison were newcomers last season. Wells earned five starts and played in 16 matches and scored against CCAC foe Saint Xavier.
Helping with the experience on the attacking third are junior transfers Abbigail Cutler and Natalie Pacheco, who have scored nearly 40 goals over their intercollegiate careers. Kylie Meegan, meanwhile, hit the back of the net 23 times at Munster and gave 16 career assists.
“Our program boasts an incredible pool of talent, with depth at every position,” head coach Jamie McNicholas said. “I am genuinely excited about the potential this group has and look forward to seeing their hard work and dedication translate into success this season.”
The Season
The regular season begins Aug. 21 with a trip to Lawrence Tech and the home opener is a week later against in-state foe IU Kokomo. The CCAC slate starts Sept. 20 at home against Saint Xavier, who finished fifth in the conference regular season standings.