Soccer at SIUE
Date	Thursday, August 18 | 8 p.m. ET
Location // Venue	Edwardsville, Ill. // Ralph Korte Stadium
Preview Info	Indiana State Notes
Live Stats	Live Stat Feed
Watch	ESPN+
Social Media	@IndStSoccer // @IndStAthletics

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State women's soccer will begin their 2022 regular season campaign on Thursday night as they'll travel to Edwardsville to take on SIUE at 8 p.m. ET at Ralph Korte Stadium.
 
Thursday's contest will be streamed on ESPN+ with live stats available as well.
 
SIUE was tabbed to win the Ohio Valley Conference, receiving 11 of the 18 first-place votes. The Cougars finished 11-7 in 2021 while going 6-2 in OVC play en route to their fourth ever conference championship. SIUE is coached by Derek Burton who enters his 15th season leading the program.
 
Three all-conference selections return for the Cougars in junior forward Maria Haro, junior forward Lily Schnieders and sophomore forward Kaitlyn Nicholls.
 
The all-time series between ISU and SIUE stands at 4-4 with the last matchup coming in 2019 in Terre Haute.
 
Sycamores head coach Julie Hanley enters her seventh season at the helm for Indiana State after leading the Trees to back-to-back MVC Tournament appearances for the first time since 2013. Indiana State finished third in the Valley in 2021 after a 4-2-2 finish in conference play with each of the four conference wins being by multiple goals.
 
Indiana State finished second in the MVC with 66 points last season, scoring 25 goals and tallying 16 assists. The Sycamores return all but one goal of production to the roster in 2022.
 
The preseason coaches' poll has the Sycamores slated to finish second with three Sycamores, Maddie Alexander, Kloe Pettigrew and CeCe Wahlberg, being named to the All-MVC Preseason Team.
 
Five Sycamores were named to All-Conference teams last season and all five return to the team in 2022. CeCe Wahlberg was named to the All-MVC First Team for the second straight season. Wahlberg finished third in the MVC in points (15), goals (6) and shots (55). She was second in the league with 34 shots on goal. During MVC play, she led the conference with 13 points. Her .618 shooting percentage tied for 30^th in the nation. The senior also finished tied for the team lead in assists with three. The 2021 fall season saw Wahlberg move up the program record books in multiple categories. She now ranks second all-time in shots on goal (70), third in total shots (146) and ninth in total points (32).

The duo of Maddie Alexander and Katie Yankey were named to the All-MVC Second Team.

Alexander finished the season with 81 saves, with 56 of them coming during MVC action which is tied for the most in the conference. She averaged seven saves a game during conference play which is tied for first while her .862 save percentage is second best. She recorded at least six saves in seven different matches including a career-high 10 against Illinois State. Her 132 career saves rank sixth all-time in Sycamore history.

Yankey played in all 17 matches for the Sycamores while starting in 16 of them, logging 1585 minutes of action. Her three assists were tied for the team lead while scoring one goal. She scored the opening goal of the season for Indiana State in their 3-1 win at Eastern Illinois on August 19. She finished the season with 12 shots including a career-high five against Illinois State.

Sasha Thompson and Mackenzie Kent return after earning Honorable Mention All-MVC honors. Kent was also named to the All-Freshman team.

Thompson appeared in all 17 matches, making 12 starts. She tied for fourth in the conference with five goals and ranks sixth in points with 13. Her five goals came on just 10 shot attempts. She finished tied for the team lead in assists with three. She scored twice in the Sycamores 3-1 win at UNI.

Kent started all 17 matches this season, finishing with 12 points including five goals and two assists. She recorded 29 shots with 15 on goal. Her five goals tied with Thompson for second most on the team and fourth in the conference. She brought home Freshman of the Week honors twice during the regular season. She scored twice in the Sycamores 4-1 win over Evansville.
 
Kloe Pettigrew returns as an anchor of the Sycamore defense after being named to the All-Tournament Team in 2021. She played and started in all 17 matches while leading the team with 1618 minutes on the field.
 
Eight new players have joined the Sycamore roster including seven freshmen and one transfer. Josie Bakaitis comes to Indiana State after two seasons as a starter at MVC foe Illinois State where she played and started in 29 matches and was named to the MVC All-Freshman Team in 2021. Her father Jeff was a member of the Indiana State Track & Field team from 1993-97.

For the latest information on Sycamore Soccer, be sure to visit GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media, including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.