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MOREHEAD | The Morehead State women’s soccer team opened preseason practice on Tuesday, July 29 in preparation for the 2025 campaign looking to qualify for its third straight NCAA Tournament. The 26-member squad has been holding two-a-day practices as it readies to open its season with a pair of exhibition games, the first coming on Thursday, Aug. 7 against Brescia (Ky.). The Eagles also will travel to face Cincinnati on Sunday, Aug. 10.

MSU finished 2024 with a 9-8-6 record, its third straight with at least a .500 overall mark. The club also ended that campaign 4-3-2 in the Ohio Valley Conference, taking fifth place. However, the Eagles won their first two OVC Tournament games, before advancing to the finals by winning a shootout with regular-season champion Tennessee Tech in the semifinals. Lindenwood got the better of the Blue and Gold in the championship match, but Morehead State earned the league’s berth to the NCAAs since the Lions were ineligible having not completed their transition period to Division I.

In the NCAA Tournament, Morehead State fell to No. 3-ranked and second-seeded Wake Forest 4-0. After falling into an early hole, the Eagles held the Demon Deacons scoreless for the final 65 minutes. Wake Forest eventually advanced all the way to the national championship match where it lost to North Carolina.

The Eagles went 2-3-2 at home in 2024, but were 7-5-4 in games played away from Morehead, including a 6-4-4 record in true road outings. The latter mark set a school record, one of five achieved by the Blue and Gold last fall. The team also boasted the lowest team goals against average, most games played, most ties and equaled the mark for longest road unbeaten streak.

Overall, the squad finished third in the OVC in goals per game (1.09) and goals against average (1.13), fourth in assists per game (1.09), fifth in shots per game (12.0), sixth in saves per game (4.65) and fouls per game (8.70), and seventh in corner kicks per game (4.13). The club also led the league in offside calls (2.26 per game) and yellow cards (1.13 per game).

This spring, the Blue and Gold finished 4-0-1 and outscored its opponents 12-1.

Nine players who saw action last year have returned, with 16 true newcomers and one redshirt joining the mix. Just three starters are back. The Eagles lost 17 players to either graduation or transfer.

Still, MSU enters the season with a lot of promise. The roster includes three all-conference performers from 2024, plus five transfers (four from Division I), three international club players, three state champions, three state runner’s up and two members of a country’s national team.

Competition for time on the pitch will be intense, something second-year head coach Paul Cox sees as a good problem to have.

“Obviously with a lot of transition and change since November 2024, we were anxious to start,” he said. “But this group is amazing. The energy, the quality and the closeness that has been developed in this short time has been great to see. It’s probably the closest group I’ve seen in a long, long time. Not only is it going to be hard to pick a starting XI; it’s also going to be hard to pick a travel squad this fall.”

With so many newcomers and only a handful of practices under its belt, the team is trying to build chemistry quickly.

“We are still getting to know each other on the field but when that clicks, good things are going to happen to this program,” Cox said.

Second-team All-OVC selection junior defender Hannah Burke (23 games played, 18 games started, one goal, two assists, four points, 12 shots) headlines the returnees. For a team that stood out defensively last year and lost three other key members of the back line, she will be counted upon heavily to stifle the opponent attack. Burke could also see time in the midfield.

She will likely be joined by junior Molly Tapak (Greenwood, Ind./Southern Illinois), and four freshmen: Faith Peper (Mahtomedi, Minn./Mahtomedi HS), Olivia Lowe (Nottingham, England/Nottinghamshire HS), Addison Petry (Louisville, Ky./Sacred Heart Academy) and Hailey Repreza (Huntington Park, Calif./Warren HS).

Tapak (10 GP, 3 GS, 0 G, 0 A, 0 Pts., 2 SH at Southern Illinois in 2024) joined the team in the spring. Two years ago, she finished with the second-most minutes played for the Salukis and the fourth most in program history. Peper also spent the spring playing for the Eagles, having graduated early after her high school team won its state title. Lowe has spent the last three years playing for the Aston Villa club team in her native country. Petry helped lead Sacred Heart to the Kentucky state championship last fall, while Repreza has spent time playing with the U17 national team of El Salvador.

The Eagles will have significant depth in the midfield this season, something they lacked last fall. Senior Kennedy Baquero (23 GP, 23 GS, 3 G, 1 A, 7 Pts., 40 SH) is the top returnee. She earned OVC All-Newcomer honors last fall. Twin sister Kamryn Baquero (22 GP, 16 GS, 1 G, 1 A, 3 Pts, 12 SH) also is back for her final season after starting most of her junior year. She scored her lone goal in a 5-1 win against Eastern Illinois.

Transfers figure to play a major role in the midfield. That group includes junior Hannah Carter (Bowling Green, Ky./Murray State), junior Keara Chaffee (Blair, Neb./Omaha) and graduate student Karissa Vela (Chino Hills, Calif./West Virginia State). Freshman Charlotte Lee (Nottingham, England) also figures prominently in the mix. Carter (15 GP, 9 GS, 0 G, 1 A, 1 Pt., 6 SH at Murray State in 2024) earned all-Missouri Valley Conference Tournament honors as a freshman. Chaffee (GP 15, 0 GS, 0 G, 1 A, 1 Pt., 1 SH at Omaha in 2024) played in 27 games over two years for a Mavericks’ squad that won 62 percent of its games. Vela (22 GP, 22 GS, 4 G, 4 A, 12 Pts., 37 SH, 2 GWG at WVSU in 2024) earned all-conference honors last year after helping lead the Yellow Jackets to their first NCAA Tournament appearance. Carter and Chaffee both played with the Eagles in the spring after transferring to MSU in January.

Two returnees and two newcomers also will battle for time in the midfield. Sophomore Elena Scianna (8 GP, 0 GS, 0 G, 0 A, 0 Pts., 0 SH) contributed in a supporting role last year, seeing 49 minutes off the bench. Redshirt sophomore Gwen Ladd (3 GP, 0 GS, 0 G, 0 A, 0 Pts., 0 SH in 2023) is entering her third season on the team. She played three games early in 2023 and then missed the rest of the year with an injury. She did not play last fall. Freshmen Alyssa Brians (Saint Leon, Ind./East Central HS) and Natalie Lentine (Fraser, Mich./Regina HS) will add to the depth. Brians scored eight times and added six assists while her Trojans’ team held opponents to just six goals in her senior campaign. After a slow start to their season, Lentine’s Saddlelites reeled off six straight wins to advance to the state finals in her final year.

Someone will have to fill the role of scorer. First-team All-OVC selection Hedda Ornberg and her 10 goals, two assists, 22 points, four game-winning goals and 54 shots are gone. Sophomore Ava Peck (23 GP, 14 GS, 3 G, 2 A, 8 Pts., 22 SH, 2 GWG) is the co-leading returning scorer. She was an OVC All-Newcomer pick last year. Cox has high expectations for sophomore Carly Gilbert (20 GP, 1 GS, 0 G, 1 A, 1 Pt., 8 SH), who he thinks could have a breakthrough year. She led the team in scoring in the spring. Sophomore Carlie Thurmond (23 GP, 6 GS, 3 G, 2 A, 8 Pts, 18 SH) played well in a reserve role last fall but should figure more prominently in the offense this year. The former Kentucky Gatorade Player of the Year scored 150 goals in her high school career.

A trio of Eagles will add depth across the front line. Sophomore BB Bonzheim (22 GP, 0 GS, 0 G, 2 A, 2 Pts., 2 SH) returns after playing double-figure minutes in 18 games as a reserve last fall. Freshman Lily Burt (Voorhees, N.J./Eastern Regional HS) had eight goals and three assists on her state runner-up Vikings’ squad in 2024. Freshman Jade Walton (Arlington, Texas/Mansfield Timberview High School) sat out her senior year with an injury, but as a junior tallied 14 goals and eight assists in just seven games.

Last year’s starting keeper Lilly Bailey transferred, leaving the Eagles in search of their third starting netminder in three years. Sophomore Claire Cress (9 GP, 6 GS, 3-2-1 record, 0.88 GAA, 3.0 saves per game) and redshirt sophomore Sofia Rodriguez (Taylor Mill, Ky./Western Carolina) will likely battle for the top spot, with freshman Hannah Sullivan (Louisville, Ky./Eastern HS) also in the mix. Cress played the second half against Wake Forest and held the Demon Deacons scoreless. She also was OVC Goalkeeper of the Week after her shutout victory over Bellarmine last August. Rodriguez spent two years at WCU, but did not play, after graduating from Newport Central Catholic, where she earned all-state honors. Sullivan was a four-year starter in high school, where she finished averaging 11.35 saves per game over her career. Last spring, Cress and Rodriguez shared time between the pipes.

Freshman forward Joni Bandi (Bern, Switzerland/Gymnasium Neufeld Berne) suffered an injury in March during her European club season and will sit out the year. She plays in the first tier Swiss Women’s Super League with Thun Berner-Oberland.

Morehead State will play 18 games this fall, 10 of which will be on its own field. It will begin the regular season at home with Marshall on Thursday, Aug. 14 and then host Austin Peay on Sunday, Aug. 17.