Chicago, Ill. - Coming off an historic season for Illinois Tech women's soccer - going 19-3-3 overall - winning the conference regular season and post-season championships - making the NCAA tournament for the first time - and going all the way to the Sweet 16, Head Coach Roshane Ellison and his Scarlet Hawks squad have no intention of stepping on the brakes as they head into the 2025 season.

"What we're aiming for and what we're going to work towards is once again, winning the conference title, regular season and post-season, and then ultimately getting into the NCAA tournament and going beyond what we did last fall," said Ellison. "It's going to be challenging, but we want that challenge."

Ellison and the Scarlet Hawks are not the only ones predicting big things for 2025 women's soccer team. The Hawks were selected to repeat as conference champions in the Nothern Athletics Collegiate Conference 2025 Pre-Season poll, voted on by league coaches and communications professionals. For the Hawks, this was their third-consecutive number one ranking in the NACC pre-season poll.

Ellison explained the process that led to this year's vision.

"For us, what we do the first of the preseason is that we sit in a room together and we discuss our goals," Ellison said. "For me, I don't just set them and communicate them to the team, from our staff to our players. We all come together and identify what our goals are, and that allows us to take ownership and accountability and have habits and actions that align with fulfilling and achieving these goals. So the players are able to take ownership of the goals and work accordingly in terms of how they practice and compete for us. Those goals are some big goals, alright. We had a strong season last year and growth is very important to us. So we want to go beyond what we did last year."

To do so would mean having to replace several graduating players who were critical to the team's success last season, including Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) all-conference performers in Caitie Chismarich, Lucy Jorjorian, Amelia Moseman and Jillian Oligschlaeger. Jorjorian was a team captain and had been the team's heart and soul and field general the last several years. Moseman had a breakout season offensively on the wing last year, while Oligschlaeger continued to provide her steadying presence on the Hawks' back line. And Chismarich in particular was the NACC's Offensive Player of the Year in 2024, leading the conference in scoring in goals(18), assists(16) and points(52). 

Ellison is confident that, although the loss of talent was great, the team will be able to continue to flourish and other players will rise to the challenge.

"(Offensively) it's going to be hard to replace Caitie(Chismarich)," said Ellison. "She was such an outstanding player. However, for us, our team is built on systems and not just one player, right? So the expectation is that we're going replace her by committee. We're expecting other players to step up. And I believe that other players will step up and our style of play in our system will allow us to still be effective and efficient as a team, whether in possession or over in possession."

Indeed, the Scarlet Hawks cupboard is not depleted of talent. If anything, between the returners and a crop of 10 new players, including eight first-years and two transfers, the Hawks are in a position to achieve their lofty goals.

Among the returners are six all-conference players in Gabriella Baltes, Mary Frampton, Allison Murray, Kayla Smith, Eva Narvarte and Hannah Ramos. Baltes is the NACC's two-time Defensive Player of the Year, with she and Frampton playing lock-down defense on the Hawks back line. Murray and Smith return as team captains, with Murray from her attacking midfielder position scoring 8 goals last year, and Smith's versatility to play wing or back positions, adding 6 goals and 11 assists for 23 points last year. Narvarte was named the NACC's Freshman of the Year, finishing tied for 4th on the team in scoring with 23 points on 9 goals and 5 assists. And perhaps flying under the radar somehow was the performance of Ramos, who finished 2nd on the team in scoring with 28 points on 11 goals and 6 assists as a first-year player last season.

The Scarlet Hawks will also be replacing long-time goalkeepers in Hailey Flannagan and Sarah Thomas, who were a big part of the team's success in keeping opponents of the board. Ellison is confident he has answers for their departures as well.

"I think (the goalkeeper competition) has been going great so far," said Ellison. "We have four goalkeepers on the roster right now, and while they're younger players, they're highly competitive. They're highly supportive of each other, and it's truly a healthy competitive environment that is allowing all of them to improve and flourish. And we're excited about all four of them. I think this is one of the best crops considering that it is four goalkeepers, right? It's just a highly competitive group and know we could select from either one at any time and have the confidence that they could get the job done."

Ellison, in his eleventh season leading the women's soccer program, is happy with how the 2025 version of the team has come along heading into the regular season.

"It surprised me how quickly the women were able to to come together," Ellison said. "We know that with collegiate soccer, it's a new team every year. A group of players graduated and a new group of players coming in. However, it was pleasantly surprising how the freshmen class came in and they just transitioned seemingly seamlessly into the program. We have a welcoming environment here, however, it was just great how those players came in and showed their character, show their personality, and just connected well with all of the returning players," said Ellison. "The team is truly a team now in terms of the connection, the chemistry, the sheer purpose, that exists within our team. So I was pleasantly surprised to see that happen so quickly, but that's a testament to the returners and the testament to the new players that we are bought into."

The 2025 journey for Illinois Tech Women's Soccer begins Sunday afternoon, August 31st, when they host North Park University in a non-conference matchup for their regular season-opener at 3pm at Stuart Field.