Last season, the women’s soccer team ended its season just shy of the Big East Tournament after a 0-0 draw with Villanova. The team finished the season 5-4-8 overall and 2-3-5 in conference play.
Despite the disappointing ending, the Bulldogs have returned this season with their eyes set on a common goal: winning the Big East Tournament. Junior defender Gemma Gillespie experienced the thrills of the Big East Tournament during her first year. Now, she wants to go back.
“Every year we strive to win the Big East,” Gillespie said. “We want to do our best once it gets to conference play, and then take it as far as possible from there.”
Last season, half of the conference matches resulted in a draw. This is partially due to injuries the team faced throughout the season. The Dawgs lacked the physical depth to play a full game at high volume. This season, the team is back to full strength with a mix of experienced players and new faces ready to start strong.
Having now experienced the high competition level in the Big East, sophomore goalkeeper Addison Ash looks forward to the challenge of conference play.
“It’s a super competitive conference,” Ash said. “Every team is so good, and no matter who they are, it’s always a good battle.”
Co-head coach Tari St. John recruited 10 first-years to this season’s team. One point of emphasis St. John made was that there is no hierarchy or class division in this program; instead, everyone works together for the betterment of the team.
“The upperclassmen group was just so ready to embrace those 10 freshmen.” St. John said. “We work really hard, especially in the early goings of preseason, to dissolve the lines of class that are a lot more prevalent in high school.”
Returning players recognize the struggles that come with entering a new program, and they have dedicated themselves to creating a positive and welcoming environment for the first-years.
“I think coming in as a freshman, sometimes you can be a little nervous and scared to make mistakes,” Ash said. “But I think coming in and building a really good culture, where no one’s really left out, has been super important and then has translated so well on the field.”
The soccer team has a tradition that helps achieve this standard of unity.
“We call it Camp Colglazier,” St. John said. “This is our 11th year; it’s a bit of a tradition for us.”
During preseason, before classes begin, the players stay at Hotel Broad Ripple for the night and simply hang out. No coaches, no soccer, just girls having fun and learning more about their teammates. The retreat is sponsored by Butler alumni, Karen and Bud Colglazier, who have given back to the school in many ways.
“Sometimes when you come off the summer, everything can feel super individualized,” Gillespie said. “We just have fun with each other, get to know each other on a deeper personal level and then we always come back ready to work and put in more for each other.”
In addition to the large first-year class, the team also sports 12 returning players. Whereas last year’s group was mostly upperclassmen, this year’s group is much younger.
“Last year, we had a really old team, and this year we have a really new team,” Ash said. “There are a lot of new perspectives, different outlooks on the game, different paths on the soccer field and personal experiences.”
Talia Sommer is one of those older players who had a large impact on the team. The well-decorated midfielder graduated last year and is now playing with Gotham FC in the NWSL.
The departure of these past players, however, is already out of mind for St. John.
“There’s this bittersweetness for me being a fall sport: on one hand, we have this group of 10 freshmen that don’t get a semester to acclimate and get their feet underneath them,” St. John said. “On the other side of things, when you lose some key players, we have already had a spring semester without them.”
The team has worked hard throughout the spring and summer, preparing themselves for this upcoming season.
“There is a renewed sense of investment in each other,” St. John said.
The Bulldogs currently sit 2-2-1 on the season. Although the overall goal is to win the Big East Tournament, Ash acknowledged that there is a whole season in front of them before they can achieve that objective.
“We’ll always face adversity throughout the season,” Ash said. “Ultimately, the Big East championship is our goal, but we will be focusing on one game at a time. Personally, I would like to win a lot of those games.”
The next home game will be on Sept. 13 at 1 p.m. versus Central Michigan for Senior Day.