It is that time again for the kickoff of the collegiate women’s soccer season in 2025, and after BGSU achieved their eighth straight Mid-American Conference (MAC) tournament appearance in 2024, they will look to set sail into the unknown sea ahead that resembles a season that brings forth a lot of questions.

The arrival of five transfers, four signings, and two new assistant coaches fills the hole left by 11 Falcon departures after the 2024 season, creating a 29-player roster that features only two players older than a junior and makes them the youngest team in the MAC in terms of class.

Despite the youth, there isn’t a lack of leadership and confidence in the locker room, as the Falcons return 13 of the 18 players who saw action in the 2024 MAC quarterfinal matchup with Ohio.

“Last season, we relied so much on youth, but now, a year later, all of those players have a full season under their belt,” head coach Chris Fox said. “And then you sprinkle in some of the returners and some of the new players that can convince us; it gives us a lot of confidence.”

However, the only changes happening in the MAC aren’t just the roster shuffles. A new team and a new tournament setting are poised to show their faces in 2025.

Notable MAC Changes

The UMass Minutemen and Minutewomen have reunited with their old friends in the Mid-American Conference, but this time on a larger scale, participating in all sports after being a football-only school in their short stint with the MAC from 2012 to 2015.

The former Atlantic 10 school, having reached the A10 tournament final in 2024 with an overall record of 13-5-3, will be a formidable force in women’s soccer. Look for the Minutewomen to potentially steal a spot in the 2025 women’s soccer tournament that will be held at a neutral site for the first time in conference history.

Historic Crew Stadium will play host to six of the best MAC women’s soccer teams, starting with the quarterfinals on Nov. 1 and ending with the final on Friday, Nov. 7.

The Falcons will look to earn their seventh MAC championship, but this time in a stadium once inhabited by the Columbus Crew of the MLS.

New Faces

Fox welcomes a completely new staff of assistant coaches for the 2025 season, hiring Kyle Pettican and Steven Samuel to take on the role.

Pettican arrives from the professional ranks, spending seven years as an assistant coach in the Philadelphia Union Academy, while Samuel heads north after two years as an assistant coach for Coastal Carolina.

“I think both of them are going to add a tremendous amount of value to the program in different areas,” Fox said. “Both have a lot of tactical knowledge and technical knowledge, and both are committed to their craft and development.”

The Falcons addressed every position in the offseason, adding two goalkeepers, three forwards, and four defenders to the roster.

After the transfer of former Falcon goalkeepers Madison Vukas and Hayleigh Lewis, Kendall Sears joins as a redshirt freshman goalkeeper after sitting out the 2024 season with the Xavier Musketeers, and Claire Landfried signs as a true freshman out of Brunswick, Ohio. The two new members will compete with returning sophomore Payton O’Malley for the starting goalkeeper spot.

Two transfers and two signings join the Falcon defense, with defender and midfielder Gabby Lamparty joining BGSU after playing 29 games across two seasons with West Virginia, along with sophomore Evie Underhill, who led the St. Bonaventure Bonnies with five points in the 2024 season as a freshman defender.

Two transfers at the forward position that were partially vacant going into the offseason due to the departure of Brynn Gardner, who reunited with former Falcon head coach Jimmy Walker at Creighton.

Junior Ella Kane joins the squad from Louisville, where she played nine matches in her sophomore season after spending her freshman season with Kentucky, appearing in 198 minutes of Wildcat soccer in 2023.

Kane joins Isabella Mazzaferro, a junior transfer from Niagara, at the forefront of the Falcon offense. The Ontario native reached the All-MAAC Third Team as recognition for a dominant sophomore season that featured 18 points across 17 matches, including a stint with a goal in five consecutive matches and seven game-winning goals.

“We’ve got five players that redshirted last season that are returning and five transfers, as well as four freshmen, so we’ve got 14 new players coming into the group,” Fox said. “I think that’s going to be the most exciting thing about this season. We’ve got experience, strength, and depth, and I’m really excited to see what we can do.”

Returners

One of the many bright spots on the Falcon roster comes with the impressive returning midfield, with eight true midfielders coming back for 2025.

Juniors Emme Butera and Michelle Hochstadt headline as the leaders and veterans of the group as juniors, but other faces like redshirt sophomore Audrey Oliver, who missed all of 2024 with an injury, as well as sophomores Lauren Mahoney and Alexis Tsaprailis, who gave valuable minutes to the Falcons as freshmen.

“Personally, I think not really a lot changed because last season, those players already had a huge leadership role in this team,” Hochstadt said. “I think the general mindset for the team this year is better. We are more hungry, we know what mistakes we made, and we have a lot of will to work on those mistakes and get better.”

A veteran class of returning forwards includes graduate student Ellie Pool, who was another player who missed 2024 with injury after scoring six goals in two seasons across 2022 and 2023. Pool will join four other returning upperclassmen forwards, including junior Emma Stransky, who earned 10 points after starting every game for the Falcons in 2024.

Juniors Taylor Green and Christine Erdman come into 2025 as the only returning upperclassmen in the defensive category, but they will be helped out courtesy of four new additions to the Falcon defense and the return of Christie Fransen, who redshirted after missing what would have been her sophomore season due to injury in 2024.

Green will have great shoes to fill as the captain of the 2025 defense, as former Falcon Isabelle Gilmore graduated and signed a professional contract after her final season with BG, where she fell just short of 6,000 career minutes as a Falcon.

Green was named to the 2023 All-MAC Freshman Team ahead of 2024, a season where she started all 18 matches and finished the season having played all but 15 minutes.

Upcoming Schedule

The Falcons open up the season with a three-game homestand, beginning against Oakland on Thursday, Aug. 14, at 7:00 p.m., before the Illinois Fighting Illini come to town on Sunday, Aug. 17, for a 1:00 p.m. kickoff at Cochrane Stadium.

After two matchups against Horizon League opponents, the Falcons will take on their second Power Four opponent of the season when they host the Cincinnati Bearcats on Sunday, Aug. 31, at 1:00 p.m. These games mark the first time Cochrane Stadium has hosted two Power Four opponents in the same season since 2017, and the Falcons are excited for the opportunity.

“I think it’s great playing powerful opponents to challenge yourself and see where you’re at,” Fox said. “Having them both here at home, it’s going to be even better, and I think we’ll be ready.”