Butler women's soccer co-head coaches Tari St. John and Rob Alman have assembled a team full of veterans and fresh talent as they look to tackle a challenging slate of matches this coming fall. In 2022, St. John is beginning her 17th season at the helm of the program, while Alman is entering his 11th.
"Last fall we saw five BIG EAST teams qualify for the NCAA Tournament," observed the coaches. "So, we expect the conference portion of our schedule to be incredibly competitive once again. And, as has become the norm for our program through the years, we have loaded the non-conference portion of the schedule with fantastic competition as well."
The season opens with a pair of exhibition matches at the Sellick Bowl, featuring Cincinnati, on Aug. 7, and IUPUI, on Aug. 11. The regular-season then gets underway, also at home, when Western Michigan visits the Butler campus on August 18. The schedule includes three teams that are ranked in the preseason top-25.
The Bulldogs are looking to build on the success of a 2021 season in which they finished with an overall record of 15-5-1, advanced to the semi-final of the BIG EAST Tournament, and secured an at-large bid for the program's third appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
"We followed a successful fall (2021) season with a really productive period of growth and continual development during the spring season," added the coaches. "So, we are excited to continue our evolution with our returning players and to add our talented and driven group of newcomers to the squad. Collectively, we have very ambitious goals for the season."
Full Schedule
Full Roster
Forwards
The 2022 Bulldogs will return a trio of forwards who produced 24 of the team's 41 goals last season. Redshirt senior Katie Soderstrom, a three-time All-BIG EAST First Team selection, redshirt junior Abigail Isger, who had five game-winning goals in 2021, and junior Alli Leonard, who last fall was third on the team in goals and second in assists, are likely to keep their opponents' goalkeepers on their heels throughout the season.
Additional offensive output is expected from senior Gretchen Skoglund, junior Anna Schroeder, and sophomore Alexei Whittaker – who each have numerous appearances under their belts – along with newcomer and Illinois product, Daphne Murray.
Midfielders
Setting up the offensive attack will be a host of veteran midfielders which includes redshirt seniors Morgan Kloosterman and Gabby Smith, seniors Becky Dean and Maddie Farnsworth, and junior Arianna Jalics.
Also, in addition to their minutes up top, Leonard and Schroeder could see some additional time in the middle of the field, and sophomore Sara Trandji will also be looking to support this group as well.
Newcomers Talia Sommer, who has several caps on Israel's national team, Amelie Darey, from England, and Sydney Longo and Emily O'Malley, from Michigan, are expected to infuse the middle of the field with some fresh talent. (O'Malley's older sister, Caitlin, is a veteran defender on Butler's current roster.)
Defenders
The Bulldogs return four upperclassmen to their defensive unit who combined for 74 starts in 2021. Seniors Aliya Diagne and Alana Wood, along with juniors Claire Farrington and Caitlin O'Malley, are expected to provide a stout test for opposing offensive units this fall.
In addition to this quartet, sophomores Lauren Doerr and Alexandra Pulaski were heavily used with significant defensive minutes in multiple appearances last season, and sophomore Dianna Palazzolo will be looking to contribute as well.
Doerr, who also saw time on the field in an outside midfielder position, was a 2021 BIG EAST All-Freshman Team selection, while Diagne received All-BIG EAST Second Team recognition.
Goalkeepers
Sophomore Emma Martin, who, along with Doerr, was selected to the 2021 BIG EAST All-Freshman Team, logged over 1800 minutes in goal last season, producing a 15-4-1 record that included nine shutouts. She will be leading the corps of Butler netminders this fall that will also include redshirt freshman Anna Pierce and newcomer Addie Marshall. Marshall is a local product, hailing from nearby Franklin, Ind.
