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'It’s been really fun': Army women's soccer returns solid core, adds young talent

ken mcmillan, times herald-record
·4 min read

WEST POINT — Her biography says it’s her third year but Army women’s soccer coach Tracy Chao doesn’t even want to think back to the crazy COVID season of 2020 that stretched into the spring of 2021. Postponements and quarantines made for a choppy experience.

So now Chao has a full “normal” season under her belt and instilling how she wants the Black Knights to play. Army finished a tick under .500 both overall and within the Patriot League, taking eventual champ Boston University to the limit in a semifinal setback.

Army loses just five seniors from fall 2021, returns two all-star leaders, a solid senior class and an influx of freshmen talent is producing optimism for a team picked by the coaches for middle of the pack in the Patriot.

“I think it’s ever evolving,’’ Chao said. “I think it’s an ongoing, continuous effort by our players and our staff to make sure that we sustain the culture and maintain the culture the way we want it. It’s been really fun, to be honest.’’

Army opened the season Thursday night by hosting Connecticut in the first of nine non-conference matches, three of which will be played at West Point. League play begins Sept. 16 when Lehigh visits and closes Oct. 26 with the finale at Boston University.

Senior Lauren Drysdale — who was also selected as First Captain, the cadet leader at West Point — and classmate Emma Richey are preseason all-stars. Drysdale is a solid two-way player in the midfield, bringing a level of grittiness and line-breaking ability. Richey is the anchor in the back, bringing order to a young defense from her center position.

Leading scorer Trinity Garay (six goals) has graduated but Army returns the bulk of its scoring, which averaged 1.26 goals per contest. Last season, junior forward Jasmine Talley had four goals, senior forward Izzy Fontana tallied three while Drysdale, Dara Murray, Kaelan Bradley and Alyssa Carfagno each posted two.

During the offseason the Black Knights focused on defensive principles, hoping to shore up after allowing multiple goals six times in 2021.

“From the attacking side, I think there's going to be a little bit more creativity, a little bit more personality,’’ Chao said. “I think that just comes with the experience.’’

Chao says the goalkeeper situation is still up in the air. Sophomore Sage Strohman played 15 matches and 1,411 minutes, posting a 1.21 goals against and .750 save percentage. Senior Taylor Stahlheim played 372 minutes with a 1.69 GAA and .731 percentage. Sophomore Lucy McDaniels is also on the team.

kmcmillan@th-record.com

Twitter: @KenMcMillanTHR

2022 schedule

August

  • Thur. 18 — Connecticut, 6 p.m.

  • Sun. 21 — Fairleigh Dickinson, 1 p.m.

  • Fri. 26 — at Air Force, 9 p.m. ET

  • Sun. 28 — at Colorado College, 4 p.m. ET

September

  • Thur. 1 — at Samford, 1 p.m. ET

  • Sun. 4 — at Auburn, 1 p.m. ET

  • Thur. 8 — Wagner, 7 p.m.

  • Sun. 11 — at Boston College, 1 p.m.

  • Wed. 14 — at Iona, 3 p.m.

  • Fri. 16 — Lehigh*, 6 p.m.

  • Wed. 21 — Holy Cross*, 6 p.m.

  • Sat. 24 — at Loyola*, Md., noon

October

  • Sat. 1 — American*, 7 p.m.

  • Sat. 8 — at Colgate*, 7 p.m.

  • Wed. 12 — Lafayette*, 6 p.m.

  • Sat. 15 — Navy*, 7 p.m.

  • Sat. 22 — at Bucknell*, 2 p.m.

  • Wed. 26 —– at Boston University*, 7 p.m.

  • Sun. 30 — Patriot quarterfinals

November

  • Thur. 3 — Patriot semifinals

  • Sun. 6 — Patriot finals

*Patriot League matches

Home matches at West Point’s Malek Stadium; league matches streamed on ESPN+

2022 roster

Seniors

  • No. 0 Taylor Stalheim, GK

  • No. 11 Dara Murray, MF

  • No. 13 Elise Urkov, F

  • No. 14 Lauren Drysdale (captain), MF

  • No. 29 Alyssa Carfagno, F

  • No. 32 Izzy Fontana, MF

  • No. 34 Emma Richey (captain), D

Juniors

  • No. 10 Sydney Bender, D

  • No. 15 Kaitlin Palaian, F

  • No. 16 Lindsey Smith, D

  • No. 20 Madison Niebish, F

  • No. 22 Jasmine Talley, F

  • No. 23 Melanie Hupp, MF

Sophomores

  • No. 00 Lucy McDaniels, GK

  • No. 1 Sage Strohman, GK

  • No. 2 Malaya Castro, F

  • No. 3 Elizabeth Oberhaus, D

  • No. 4 Hannah Pohlidal, D

  • No. 8 Kaelan Bradley, MF

  • No. 9 Grace Evalds, F

  • No. 12 Andrea Riddle, D

  • No. 19 Macy Detty, D

  • No. 25 Keira Vesy, D

Freshmen

  • No. 5 Bella Cooke, F

  • No. 6 Ashley Lee, F

  • No. 7 Carli Sullenger, MF

  • No. 17 Jordan Follenweider, D

  • No. 21 Maddie Allshouse, MF

  • No. 26 Cami Silvestro, MF

  • No. 28 Payton Whitney, D

  • No. 30 Brigid Duffy, MF

  • No. 31 Gabby Lassiter, D

Coaches

  • Tracy Chao, head coach

  • Tori Ball, assistant

  • Katie Nimitz, assistant

2022 Patriot preseason poll

(2021 records in parenthesis)

Poll

  1. Navy (11-6-3, 6-2-1 Patriot) 145 points

  2. Bucknell (11-8-3, 5-2-2) 144

  3. Boston University (11-6-3, 6-1-2) 141

  4. Loyola, Md. (8-6-4, 5-1-3) 116

  5. Army (7-9-3, 3-4-2) 92

  6. Lehigh (6-10-1, 4-4-1) 72

  7. Colgate (7-8-2, 3-4-2) 71

  8. Lafayette (5-10, 3-6) 47

  9. American (5-9-2, 2-5-2) 38

  10. Holy Cross (1-15-1, 0-8-1) 21

Coaches and sports information personnel made up the 20 votes.

This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Army West Point womens soccer returns solid core for 2022