BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The Illinois Wesleyan University women's soccer team kicks off its 2023 season with a non-conference home opener versus Simpson College Friday, Sept. 1, at 5 p.m. The defending College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin regular season and tournament champions will be under the tutelage of second-year head coach, Oz Bakirdan. 

Bakirdan and the IWU women's soccer staff raked in recognition for their success last season earning both the CCIW Coach of the Year and NCAA Region VIII Staff of the Year awards. The Green and White boasted an 11-5-3 overall record last season that featured a two-game appearance in the NCAA Division III Tournament. IWU met Concordia-Wisconsin in the first round with a 5-2 victory before battling regional host and 13th-ranked UW-La Crosse in a 1-0 loss in the second round to conclude the 2022 campaign.

IWU was predicted to finish second in the conference this season according to the league's annual coaches preseason poll. The CCIW runner-up in both regular season and conference play, North Central College was predicted to head the conference in 2023. 

The Titans return 16 from last year's roster while adding five first-year student-athletes and five transfers. The 2022 CCIW Newcomer of the Year and Second Team All-Conference honoree, Sawyer White (Downers Grove, Ill.-Montini Catholic) will serve as one of three captains with senior Sarah Johnson (Frankfort, Ill.-Lincoln-Way East) and junior Audrey Hofstetter (Gilbert, Ariz.-Perry). 

White is the team's top returning assists leader with six last season, good enough for fifth in the conference in 2022. Junior goalkeeper Kayla Borg (McHenry, Ill.-Cary Grove) returns to the box as a Second Team All-CCIW honoree after posting a 10-4-3 record with 71 saves and six shutouts on the year. 

Friday's match marks the third consecutive year the Titans have met Simpson College for a season opener. The two teams tied at 1-1 in 2022 after IWU won 4-3 in double overtime in 2021. 

The women's soccer game is set for 5 p.m. at Neis Field on Friday, Sept. 1, and will serve as the opener in a doubleheader with the men's game against Washington University in St. Louis at 7:30 p.m.

Both games will be available via live stream and live stats. The women's live stream can be accessed here, while the live stats can be found here.