DAYTON — The Wright State women's soccer program opens its regular season on Thursday, August 17, at Bellarmine. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Owsley B. Frazier Stadium. The non-conference matchup will televise on ESPN+.
MATCH INFORMATION
Thursday, August 17 - 7 p.m. -
Watch on ESPN+ -
Live Stats
SCOUTING THE KNIGHTS
Entering its third season as a Division I program, Bellarmine went 4-7-8 last year and advanced to the ASUN Tournament semifinals as the West Division's No. 4 seed. The Knights are under the direction of first-year head coach Paul Babba.
HISTORY VS. BELLARMINE
The Raiders and Knights met for the first-ever time in Fall 2021, battling to a 1-1 double overtime draw. While Bellarmine reached the scoreboard in the opening half,
Michelle Rings evened the match with a goal in the 79th minute from
Makaylee Zuercher's assist. On the other end, Raider goalkeeper
Jessika Seward finished with three saves in four opportunities.
PRESEASON PREP
Exhibition contests against Michigan State, Western Michigan, and Morehead State served as tune-ups for the 2022 season. Wright State concluded preseason play with a 3-0 victory over Morehead State at Alumni Field.
Josie Krupp,
Elise Canter, and
Annika Samborski found the back of the net in the victory, while
Jessika Seward and
Hanna Hargrave combined for the shutout in goal.
RETURNING TALENT
Wright State returns 10 players who logged nine or more starts and 700-plus minutes, including a pair of All-Horizon League performers in
Olga Massombo and
Olivia Mace. Massombo,
Josie Krupp,
Maddie Mitchell, and
Michelle Rings scored multiple times last season, while
Lauren Borchert tied for second on the team with two assists. Mace was the lone Raiders to appear and start in all 18 matches, totaling a team-leading 1,578 minutes.
Jessika Seward will enter her third season as WSU's goalkeeper, where she has tallied 103 saves in 21 career starts.
MEET THE COACHES
The Raiders are led by second-year head coach
Travis Sobers, a longtime assistant coach at WSU before taking reigns on the sidelines last summer. The former Wright State men's soccer standout player helped the Raiders to victories over Marshall, Akron, IUPUI, Cleveland State, and UIC in 2021. Assistant coach
Abbey Frail joined the Raiders in January 2022 after two seasons on the staff at her alma mater Wingate University. Last fall, as interim head coach, she guided the Bulldogs to an 11-6 overall record.
WELCOME TO THE FAM
WSU welcomes 10 first-year students and two transfers to this season's squad.
Marcella Sizer joined the Raiders after three seasons at fellow Horizon League school Youngstown State, where she totaled 23 points on 10 goals — two game-winners — and three assists over three seasons.
PRESEASON POLL
The Raiders were picked sixth in the annual Horizon League preseason poll, which the league's 11 head coaches voted on. Oakland topped the conference poll while defending HL tournament champion Milwaukee was close behind in the second.
NEXT UP
After Bellarmine, Wright state will stay on the road for a non-conference contest at Dayton on Sunday, August 21. The rivalry match will start at 6 p.m. and air on ESPN+.
