From The official Women's Soccer page for the Indiana University Hoosiers.
MATCH CENTRAL: Indiana vs. Tennessee
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Indiana women's soccer team is back in action on Thursday, Aug. 15 as they host the Tennessee Volunteers at Bill Armstrong Stadium.
BROADCAST:
The match will be streamed on Big Ten Plus. On the call will be, Ian Plaskoff (PxP), Luke Brenneman (Analyst) and Sydney Parrish on the Sideline.
GAME PROMOTIONS:
IUWS will be giving away 2024 schedule posters and cards at our first match of the season. Stop by the marketing table to pick up a 2024 schedule poster and/or card while supplies last.
ABOUT THE VOLUNTEERS:
Indiana is 1-0-1 against the Tennessee Volunteers. Last season, the Hoosiers scored two goals in the 33rd minute within seconds of each other in the first half. The Vols scored twice in the 53rd and 72nd for a 2-2 draw in Knoxville. Tennessee ended last season with a NCAA First Round win against No. 17 Xavier with a 1-0 win in overtime before falling to No. 15 Nebraska 2-1 in the second round of the NCAA tournament. The Vols held a record of 9-7-4 and added 17 newcomers which included 10 freshman and seven with collegiate experience.
RETURNERS:
Of IU's 25 players that saw minutes in 2023, 21 will return for the 2023 season.
IUWS is returning eight of its 12 goal scorers last year. Coffield and Costello scored at least two goals with an additional six scorers returning this season.
Indiana's backline returns veteran defender
Camille Hamm, rookie standout
Piper Coffield and
Lauren Costello. This trio aided in the single-season shutout record and combined for five goals and 18 points.
Veteran
Sydney Masur and counterparts
Natasha Kim and
Hope Paredes return for the Hoosiers in the midfield. The trio combined for 39 shots, 14 shots on goal and five points last season.
Elle Britt led the team in shots last season with 42 and 13 on target.
Marisa Grzesiak trailed Britt with 27 shots and 11 shots on goal.
NEW ADDITIONS:
The Hoosiers added six new additions to the team including graduate transfer
Avery Snead and five true freshmen in
Layla Sirdah,
Bella Haggerty,
Josie Pratl,
Maggie Ledwith and
Haden Vlcek.
Snead was named to the Big Ten Player to Watch List as she looks to bring her veteran experience and make immediate impact on the pitch.
Haggerty, Vlcek and Pratl will add depth to the IU's backline while Maggie and Layla look to create more scoring chances for the Hoosiers.
B1G PLAYERS TO WATCH:
Jamie Gerstenberg, Jr., GK
Gerstenberg earns a spot on the watch list for the third straight year. The reigning Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year who started between the pipes in all 20 of the Hoosiers' matches. She totaled 52 saves (.765 save percentage) with a .82 goals against average. She set the single-season shutout record with 10 and went 12-4-4 as the primary keeper. The Birkenwerder, Germany native holds Indiana's career shutout record with 25 clean sheets and tied the single-season Big Ten record. Gerstenberg was also an All-Big Ten First Team selection and will continue to make big strides for the Hoosiers.
Piper Coffield, So., D
Coffield was named to the Big Ten All-Tournament Team and picked up three Big Ten Freshman of the Week awards and one Defensive Player of the Week in her rookie season. She played a total of XX minutes, holding Indiana's backline strong. She scored three goals with two assists and combined for eight points. The Mars, Penn. native scored two gamewinners on penalty kicks to put the Hoosiers on top last season. Coffield ended last season with a .429 shots on goal percentage and aided in the cream and crimson's single-season shutout record.
Avery Snead, Gr., D
Snead, a graduate transfer from Providence College, earns a spot on the Player to Watch List after looking to make a big impact for the Hoosiers. She joins the Indiana women's soccer team after spending four-years with the Friars. As a midfielder, she started in all 69 matches and totaled 13 points in her career with six goals and one assist. Snead held a .525 shots on goal percentage with four game-winning goals to finish her career. A native of Wrentham, Mass., she was named to the All-BIG East Second Team in 2023, earned All-BIG East All-Freshman Team honors in 2020 and Second Team Honors in 2022. Snead was also named to the United Soccer Coaches All-East Region Third Team. Snead is a two-time NEWISA All-New England Second Team honoree.
2023 SEASON BY THE NUMBERS:
• The Hoosiers 12 wins last season are the most since 2013 where IU went 15-7-1.
• IU faced three losses last season, the least number of losses in a single season. Indiana finished with five in the 2020-21 and 2021 seasons.
• Indiana women's soccer made their first Big Ten Tournament appearance since 2019 and the 15th in program history.
• IUWS totaled 20 points for the best Big Ten finish in program history. Had two of the best conference finishes in the last three years with 19 points in the 20-21 season.
• 36 is the highest RPI since the 2007 (23) and the 2013 (29) seasons.
• Indiana made five appearances in the United Soccer Coaches Poll this season and earned the teams highest ranking in week six checking in at 17th.
• The Hoosiers made three straight appearances in the United Coaches and TopDrawerSoccer's national polls.