TOPEKA, Kan. -- #4 Washburn soccer faces off against #19 Maryville and #9 Missouri-St. Louis to open the 2026 season. 
 

 KICKOFF 

•  Washburn Ichabod soccer begins the 2026 season at home facing off against Maryville and Missouri-St. Louis. 
•  Washburn will take on the Saints at 6 p.m. on Thursday Aug. 27 and the Tritons at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 29.

BOD BREAKDOWN 

•  Washburn enters the 2026 season after a Semifinal appearance in the NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Championship. 
•  Maryville went 13-3-6 with a 9-1-4 record in the GLVC. The Saints fell in the semifinals of the GLVC tournament, and earned a berth in the NCAA tournament, where they advanced to the Third round.
•  Missouri - St. Louis went 15-5-2 in 2024 with a 11-1-2 record in the GLVC, falling in the quarterfinals of the GLVC Tournament. The Tritons fell to Washburn in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II Championship. 
•  The Ichabods were picked first with seven first place votes in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll. 
• Washburn returns 19 players from last year's NCAA Division II Championship Semifinal appearance, the Ichabods add one transfer and seven freshman. 

 BACK FOR MORE 

•  Senior Defender Lindsey Maul returns to Washburn after starting in all 22 of her appearances last season. Maul was named All-MIAA First Team, USC Central Region First Team, and D2CCA Central Region Second Team in 2025. 
•  Forward Leah Henke returns to Washburn for her sophomore season. Henke started in 21 of 23 appearances. while leading the team in goals (12) and points (26). She scored 12 goals in the 2025 season which ranked fourth in program history. Henke's 0.52 goals per match is second in program history and is fourth with 1.13 points per match. Henke was named All-MIAA First Team, MIAA Freshman of the Year, USC Central Region First Team, and D2CCA Central Region Second Team in 2025.  
•  Senior Defender Rilyn Snyder is back at Washburn for her senior season after starting in all 24 games last season. Snyder led the team in minutes with 2078 and scored her first career goal on October 17 against Northeastern State. Snyder was named to the All-MIAA Second Team and MIAA Academic Honor Roll. 
•  Sam Searcey returns to Washburn for her junior year after appearing in all 24 games, which included 10 starts. Searcey was third on the team with five goals and 38 shots. She was named All-MIAA Third Team and CSC Academic All-District in 2025. 
•  Senior Forward Mackinly Rohn returns to Washburn after starting in all 24 games a season ago. Rohn enters her senior season 10th all-time in assists with 11. Rohn was named to the All-MIAA Third Team and the CSC Academic All-District Team.
•  Grace Peterson is back at Washburn for her senior season, in which she started all 22 of 24 games last season. She recorded three assists, the first of which came against Missouri Southern on October 10, 2025. Peterson was named to the All-MIAA Third Team and was named to the MIAA Academic Honor Roll. 
•  Lili Everley enters her sophomore season after starting in 22 of 24 matches last season. She made a career high nine saves in the NCAA Second Round against Minnesota State. Everley was named to the All-MIAA Honorable Mention Team and was named to the MIAA Academic Honor Roll, MIAA Scholar Athlete and MIAA Academic Excellence lists.
•  Sophomore Midfielder Bricelyn Betts is back at Washburn after appearing in all 24 games, which included two starts last season. Betts was second on the team with four assists in 845 minutes played. Betts was also named to the All-MIAA Academic Honor Roll in 2025. 
•  Kate Hinck returns for her sophomore season at Washburn. Hinck started all 24 games, recording 1421 minutes last season. Hinck was second on the team with seven goals and also tallied the most shots with 69. She was named to the NCAA All-Tournament Team and MIAA Academic Honor Roll in 2025. 
•  Presslee Amick has played in 36 games in three years as an Ichabod. Amick appeared in one game and missed the rest of 2025 season to injury. 
•  Sophomore Midfielder Lydia Keller returns to Washburn for her sophomore season. She played in 17 of 24 matches and recorded her first career assist against Nebraska-Kearney on October 3 last season. Keller was named to the MIAA Academic Honor Roll in 2025. 
•  Thea Martin is back at Washburn for her sophomore season. Martin recorded 11 games played and 343 minutes in 2025. Martin was a member of the MIAA Academic Honor Roll last season. 
•  Senior Forward Kylie Hinrichs appeared in all 24 games, including four starts totaling 801 minutes last season. Hinrichs scored her first career goal against Fort Hays State on October 26, which was also the game winning goal. 
•  Brynn Allison returns to Washburn for her sophomore season. Allison appeared in 20 matches and started in 10 of them. Allison's first career assist came in a 5-1 win over Missouri Southern on October 10. 
•  Jules Wardlaw enters her sophomore year as an Ichabod. Wardlaw appeared in all 24 games, totaling 845 minutes. She scored two goals in the 2025 season including a game-winner against Northwest Missouri State on October 31. 
•  Senior Defender Aubree Blackman enters her second year as an Ichabod after two years at Emporia State. In 2025, Blackman appeared in 20 games, tallying 509 minutes of action. 
•  Brooke Willcott, Ruby Wexler, and Destiny Higgs return to Washburn after redshirting their freshman seasons. 

 NEW FACES 

•  Washburn adds seven freshmen,  including four Nebraska  natives, and three Kansan's. 
•  Ichabods add one transfer Avery Young from Baker, also a Kansas native. 

MILESTONE MARKERS 

•  Sam Searcey is one point away from 20 career points. 
•  Leah Henke is four points away from 30 career points and eight minutes away from 1,600 career minutes. 
•  Rilyn Snyder is nine minutes from 2,500 career minutes. 

 LOOKING AHEAD 

•  Washburn will face Drury for a non-conference home game on Wednesday, September, 2. 
• The Ichabods open up MIAA play on Sep. 26th on the road against Central Oklahoma.

ABOUT MARYVILLE

• MU is led by former USWNT player & World Cup Champion Lori Lawson in her eighth season.
• The Saints finished 13-3-6 last season and 9-1-4 in the GLVC.
•  MU lost to Missouri-St. Louis 2-1 in the third round of the NCAA tournament.
•  The Saints add six freshman to go along with 20 returners.
•  Sophia Carter leads all Saints returners with 18 points in 2025, including seven goals and four assists.
•  Ashlyne Hunt recorded six goals, and Ashlyne Hunt added five as key contributors for Maryville last season.
•  Agnes Vilen returns after only allowing 14 goals and tallying 40 saves in 19 starts. 
•  The Saints outscored opponents 34-16 in 2025, averaging 17.3 shots and allowing 7.2 shots per game
•  Assistant coaches Eric Delabar, Ian McReynolds, and Lexi Gentry round out the coaching staff.
•  Washburn is 0-1-1 all-time against the Saints. Last season the two teams tied 1-1 on September 4. 

ABOUT MISSOURI-ST. LOUIS

•  Stephen Cavallo enters his second season as the Tritons Head Coach.
•  The Saints went 15-5-2 last season and 11-1-2 in the GLVC.
•  UMSL lost to Washburn 3-2 in the NCAA Quarterfinals. 
•  The Tritons return 22 players from 2025, add two freshmen, and five transfers.
•  Josie Maddox was the Tritons point leader with 17, including six goals and five assists.
•  Ella Amselm led UMSL with seven goals in 2025. 
•  The Tritons outscored opponents 44-14 in 2025.
•  Assistant coaches Elyesa Kellam, Chris McGill, and Eric Walker round out the coaching staff.
•  UMSL leads the series 3-2, however, Washburn won the most recent meeting in the NCAA Quarterfinals last season 3-2.