The Case Western Reserve University women's soccer team will be looking to earn its seventh consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament as the squad embarks on the 2026 season. The Spartans will begin the campaign on Tuesday, September 1 with a home matchup against crosstown rival John Carroll at 5 p.m.
The team is looking to build upon its performance in 2025 when CWRU went 14-2-4 and advanced to the Second Round of the NCAA Championship for the fifth year in a row. The squad, which tied for third in the hyper-competitive University Athletic Association with a 4-2-1 conference record, suffered its two losses of the season to the two national finalists, Emory and WashU. The team won the third-most games in program history and scored 63 goals during the campaign, the second-most by a Spartan squad ever.
Newcomers
CWRU Head Coach Alyssa Johnson, entering her third campaign in Cleveland, added 11 student-athletes to the team. Graduate students Sophie Berman (Washington & Lee) and Isabella Guzman (Denison) will finish their collegiate careers at Case Western Reserve after three years of soccer at Division III schools. Both earned all-conference honors for their previous institutions. Sophomore Elizabeth DeHond joins eight incoming first-year players that will be hoping to make their college debuts this year. Defenders Skylar Ambrose and Hannah Ku, midfielders Sonora Hale, Sunny Jin, Libby Magnone, and Rachel Mathew, and forwards Elsa Pringle and Samantha Zhu will all look to make an impact as first-year players.
Goalkeepers
Junior Ellie Palaian set a program record with 12 shutouts in 20 starts for the Spartans in front of the net last season. She logged every minute of every game for CWRU, earning All-UAA Second Team and All-Region Third Team honors following the season. Palaian allowed 10 goals in 1,820 minutes for a goals allowed average of 0.49, adding 46 saves. Sophomore Madeline Mescher adds depth at the position after not appearing in a match during her first year on campus.
Defenders
The backline will return its three starters from last season along with solid, veteran contributors. Sophomore Mia Modrovich will anchor the unit after starting every game in 2025 and missing just 15 minutes of action during the entire campaign, earning All-UAA honorable mention. Senior Kat Tsarouhas has not missed a game during her time on campus, making 55 starts in 57 games and contributing to 26 shutouts. She has played at least 1,500 minutes in each of her three seasons on campus. Junior Kinzly Gootman started the first 17 games of the 2025 season before suffering an injury, logging 1,466 minutes in the field and contributing two assists. She has 34 starts across two seasons as a Spartan.
Senior Kaylee Bannack has logged significant minutes on the backline over the last three seasons, appearing in 30 games and making 11 starts for CWRU in her career.
Seniors Abby Noah (five career appearances) and Sadie DeAngelo (three career appearances) along with sophomore Madison Humenik (two appearances in 2025) will add depth on the backline. Newcomers Ambrose, DeHond, and Ku will also compete for time at the position for CWRU.
Midfielders
The Spartans will be looking to replace the majority of their playing time in the midfield despite juniors Abby Welker, Vivian Nohra, and Ashley Liang all playing significant roles in the center of the pitch for Case Western Reserve last season. Welker, who may also appear further up the field as a forward, has not missed a game in her career, scoring four times last season and adding four assists in two years. Nohra started a pair of contests in 19 appearances in 2025, and Liang has played in 27 contests over the last two seasons, scoring a goal and adding an assist.
Senior Maya Healy will return to the field after missing the entire 2025 season and most of the 2024 season due to injury. She contributed to eight shutouts in 2023 and scored twice in her debut season. After starting her career as a defender, Healy will see additional time in the midfield as a senior.
Senior Marina Morris and junior Taylor Brackett could see increased roles this season after appearing in nine and four games, respectively, for CWRU last year. Junior Emi Kenney, who missed last season due to injury after spending her first year at Division I Youngstown State, will see her first action on the pitch in a Spartan uniform this year.
Seniors Talia Ciralsky and Angelee Rodriguez, each with four career appearances, are depth options at the position. Rodriguez had a memorable game against Baldwin Wallace last year, scoring twice in a 5-0 Spartan victory. Junior Aly Schellhouse and senior Avery Reiman will also add experienced depth at the position for the Spartans. Reiman scored once and added an assist in 13 career games, and Schellhouse has played in seven contests as a Spartan, including two last season. Newcomers Hale, Jin, Magnone, and Mathew will also compete for playing time in the midfield.
Forwards
At the top of the pitch, the Spartans have the reigning UAA Rookie of the Year in sophomore Izzy Probst. She finished third on the team with 22 points, scoring seven goals and tying for the team lead with eight assists. Probst appeared in every contest for the Spartans last season and recorded a point in 12 of the 20 games.
Sophomore Emily Callanen appeared in 14 contests for the Spartans last season, scoring once and adding two assists in her debut campaign. Guzman (five goals and four assists in 55 games at Denison), Berman (16 goals, 12 assists in 65 games at W&L), Pringle, and Zhu will also be considered as goalscoring options for CWRU.
Coaching Staff
Johnson returns for her third season leading the Spartans in 2026. The Lafayette College graduate has a career record of 41-42-15 (.495) in seven seasons as a head coach, including a 23-7-9 (.705) mark leading Case Western Reserve. She will be joined on the bench by full-time assistant coach Ross Minick and goalkeeper coach Scott Lindsay.
Schedule
The Spartans open the 2026 campaign with three consecutive home games and four of their first five contests at DiSanto Field. CWRU starts the season on September 1 against crosstown rival John Carroll, one of the 10 scheduled opponents who made the NCAA Tournament last season. Three days later, the team hosts Pacific Lutheran and follows with Senior Day against Capital on September 6. After a short road trip to Baldwin Wallace, Case Western Reserve hosts Grove City on September 12, the second 2025 NCAA Tournament team.
The Spartans hit the road for their next four games, playing Hope and Calvin, who reached the round of 16 last season, on back-to-back days before trips to Erie, Pennsylvania, for a game against Penn State Behrend, and Granville, Ohio, to face Denison. The squad faces Heidelberg at home on September 29 to end non-conference play.
CWRU starts UAA play with a trip to Rochester. The UAA sent seven of its eight teams to the NCAA Tournament last season, including CWRU, national champion WashU, and national runner-up Emory. The Spartans face the reigning national champions in St. Louis after the journey to Rochester. Case Western Reserve returns to Cleveland for games against national semifinalist Chicago on October 17, Brandeis on October 23, and NYU on October 25. The team flies to Atlanta to face Emory on Halloween before closing the regular season against rival Carnegie Mellon in Cleveland on November 7.
Postseason selections will be announced on Monday, November 9 with the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament scheduled for November 14 and 15 at campus sites. For the third consecutive season, the 21 at-large teams will be selected by the NCAA Power Index (NPI).
