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Kenyon College Athletics

Team
David Carley

2026 women's soccer preview

GAMBIER, Ohio - After an encouraging season in 2025, the Kenyon College women's soccer team looks ahead to continue building towards their aspirations of finishing as a top team in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC). With a large returning class and experienced newcomers, this team of soccer athletes is not afraid of putting in the hard work required to reach that goal. The squad is looking to remain connected and grow in their excitement as they gear up for another great season.

2025 Review
  • 9-4-5 overall record; 7-0-1 at home and 2-4-4 at away sites
  • 3-2-2 record in conference matchups, finishing fifth in NCAC standings with a total of 11 points and trailing first place John Carroll (15), second place DePauw (12), third place Denison (12), and fourth place Wooster (11)
  • Four All-NCAC recipients
  • Two NCAC Women's Soccer All-Tournament Team honorees
  • 2025 NCAC Coaching Staff of the Year Award
  • 2025 Team Ethics and Sportsmanship Award
  • Six College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team recipients
  • Two All-Region players
  • Two All-Ohio Team honorees and two Academic All-Ohio recipients

Coaching Staff
Head coach, Sarah McClellan, will look to lead the Owls for her third season here at Kenyon. Starting from ground zero, she has made a huge impact on the women's soccer program and their improved win-loss record is just one way to show that. McClellan and her coaching staff, including full-time assistant Sean Dale, took home the 2025 NCAC Coaching Staff of the Year Award, a reward of their hard work and dedication. Dale and McClellan will now look to build on last year's efforts as they get ready for the season ahead.

"Our staff and student-athletes are very excited to get going again," exclaimed McClellan. "We will be looking to build our chemistry and acclimate everyone into the program right away in preseason. We have a great group of returners and newcomers that will combine for a hard working, high energy, and connected team. Our goal is to continue to focus on our development as we prepare for what is sure to be a competitive season ahead."

NCAC Preseason Poll
The annual NCAC preseason poll was released on August 26th, placing Kenyon in the No. 4 spot (36 pts). This exemplifies the growth this team has been on given that just the season previous, the Owls were predicted to finish eighth in conference. In front of Kenyon and in third place was DePauw University with 45 pts. In second place was John Carroll University with 54 pts, and seeded first in conference for the preseason poll was Denison University with 59 pts. 

Returning All-Conference Honorees
The Owls roster will return three all-conference honorees in the 2026 season. A sophomore forward last season, Emily Copeland will take the field again this year after receiving her twice consecutive All-NCAC Second Team honor. Tallying on to that, first-year standouts, Addison Szollosi and Hannah Schmidt, both took home All-NCAC Third Team honors for their outstanding performances this past season.

Copeland led the Owls offense with another standout season playing 1,299 minutes. A previous NCAC Newcomer of the Year, Copeland paced the team with nine goals and 18 points, including one game-winning strike. She earned her place among the All-Ohio picks by leading her team and the NCAC in goals and total points. With 68 total shots and 36 on target, she averaged 3.00 shots per game which ranked the highest in the conference.

Szollosi will join the Owls as a sophomore this coming season after having a huge impact last year. She proved to be an attacking threat tallying up four goals and eight points, including two game-winning strikes. She was also ranked 14th in the conference in both total shots (32) and shots on goal (15). Logging the seventh-most minutes on the team (1,189), Szollosi appeared in all 18 games with 16 starts.

Schmidt earned her third team recognition after an impressive debut season as a first-year defender. Returning as a sophomore, Schmidt has appeared in 18 games and started eight, totaling 1,101 minutes. She was part of a well oiled defensive unit that posted 11 shutouts and was able to contribute two assists to tie the team lead.

Returning Statistical Leaders
During the past 2025 season, Copeland led the Owls and the NCAC in goals (9) and total points (18 pts). She made a huge offensive impact on the field and amassed 1,299 minutes. She also averaged the most shots per game in the conference with 3.00 shots.

In net, senior goalkeeper Ariel Kite will return to help lead and organize the Owls. Playing and starting all 18 games, Kite totaled 1,507 minutes, the second-most for the Kenyon team. She lowered the goals against average to only 0.54 goals and made 36 saves while posting eight solo shutouts. 

In the midfield, both Zoe Lipp and Fiona Dougherty contributed greatly to the Owls' success. Lipp played a total of 1,227 minutes over all 18 games, all of which she started, and netted one goal, collecting 2 points. Dougherty tallied 12 starts on 17 game appearances and played 1,294 minutes last season.

Season Overview
  • Season Opener: Saturday, September 5 at Franciscan University (3:30 pm)
  • Home Opener: Wednesday, September 9 vs. Bethany College (4:30 pm)
  • NCAC Opener: Saturday, October 3 vs Denison College (12:00 pm)

How to Follow
Fans can follow Kenyon women's soccer throughout the season via the following links: 
  • Live coverage (stats and video) - https://athletics.kenyon.edu/live 
  • Twitter and Instagram - @KenyonSports
  • YouTube - @KenyonAthletics
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