Women’s Soccer Begins Season with Two-Game Road Trip

Titans to face Simpson and Knox

8/31/2022 2:00:00 PM

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University women's soccer team opens its 2022 season on the road against Simpson College in Iowa Thursday, Sept. 1 for a 5 p.m. start. The Titans will then continue its road trip in Galesburg, Ill. Sunday, Sep. 4 for a 1 p.m. kick off against Knox College. The defending College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Co-Regular Season Champions will be led by first-year head coach Oz Bakirdan.

Returning 18 Titans, IWU also introduces eight newcomers including freshmen Bree Cordray (Bloomington, Ill.-University), Maya Basan (Skokie, Ill.-Loyola Academy), Paige Griffin (Morton, Ill.-Morton), Bella DeMonica (Huntley, Ill.-Huntley), Maya Flemming (Crystal Lake, Ill.-Prairie Ridge), Sawyer White (Downers Grove, Ill.-Montini Catholic), and Ella Revell-Beck (Davenport, Iowa-Davenport Central), and sophomore-transfer Grace Spader (Bloomington, Ill.-Normal Community) to the 2022 squad.

IWU will open against the Storm for the second straight season after defeating SC, 4-3 in the Titans 2021 season opener Sept, 1. Overall, the Green and White and Simspon have played twice, back in 2001 where IWU blanked the Storm 2-0 and in the 2021 season opener. The Titans hold a 2-0 advantage in the all-time series.

Both IWU and Simpson open the season against each other, while Knox is set to face off against Transylvania University Thursday, Sept. 1 before welcoming the Titans to town on Sunday.

Against Knox, IWU has seen the Prairie Fire only three times in the squads' all-time history. Dating back to 1995, the Green and White dropped its first match 1-0 before winning the next two matches, 6-0 and 8-0 in 1996 and 1997, respectively. The lengthy hiatus of in-season tilts has seen Illinois Wesleyan and KC more recently battle in preseason scrimmages in 2021 and 2019.

Senior Titan Jenna Li (Haslett, Mich.-Lansing Christian) completed her freshman and sophomore seasons at Knox as a starter for the women's soccer team. During her time in Galesburg, Li totaled 23 games notching four goals and four assists tallying 12 points. The Lansing, Mich. native was also named the Midwest Conference Newcomer of the Year in 2019. That same year, Li aided the Prairie Fire to the MWC Tournament Championship.

Both games will be available via live stream and live stats. Against Simpson the live stream can be found here while live stats can be accessed here. For the game against Knox, livestats can be found here and the livestream can be found here.

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