INDIANOLA, Iowa — The Illinois Wesleyan University women's soccer team opened up its 2026 season with a 1-1 draw against Simpson College Tuesday, Sept. 1 at Bill Buxton Stadium. Senior captain Sophie Lampert (Hudson, Ill – Normal West) gave the Titans the 1-nil edge early in the first half, but the Storm answered in the second half.
The Green and White started the contest strongly, gaining a corner kick in the first five minutes. Junior captain Ellen Dahlquist (Peoria, Ill. – Peoria Notre Dame) gave IWU its first shot opportunity at 13:11 but was shy of the left post. Simpson was quick to answer with two shots of its own but sophomore transfer goalkeeper Zoe Kormah (Pekin, Ill. – Pekin Community) was there for the save.
The Titans, with the edge, found an opportunity from Liza Wiley (Bloomington, Ind. – Home School) but was saved by the Storms Meredith Downs. Just 22 seconds later, Dahlquist found a pass to Lampert deep in the box to put up the Titans' first goal of the season making the contest 1-0.
Illinois Wesleyan kept knocking on the Storm's door as the Titans fired five more shot attempts before the first half came to an end. IWU outshot Simpson eight to six in the opening 45 minutes. Kormah saved three shots heading into the second half. IWU saw six corner kicks compared to the Storm's zero.
Coming back from the break, Illinois Wesleyan continued its fight when senior Ava Mapes (Golden, Colo. – Lakewood) took a shot but was quickly saved. Kormah stymied an ensuing attack by the SC with two straight saves. In the 59th minute, senior Adriana Ruffolo (Bloomingdale, Ill. – Glenbard North) replaced Kormah in between the pipes.
With nine minutes left in the contest, the Storm found an opening in the Titan's defense to equalize 1-1. IWU had a couple of attempts to regain the lead down the stretch, but failed to capitalize.
The Storm would take one final chance to edge out the Titans, but the shot was saved by Ruffalo.
Illinois Wesleyan is back in action on Saturday, Sept. 5 against Kalamazoo in Kalamazoo, Mich. Kickoff is slated to start at 11 a.m. CT.
