HUNTINGTON, WEST VIRGINIA – As the Marshall Women’s Soccer team prepares to take on Morehead State in Thursday’s home opener at Hoops Family Field, the FM88 Sports team is set to deliver another year of top-tier broadcasts.
“My goals for this year are to continue our award-winning broadcasts as best as we can while growing the talents of the staff,” said Sports Director Sean Kelly. “As with any year, we have a number of new staff members, so giving them experience while doing the same for those with experience is the primary goal. There’s new experiences for everyone involved, including me, so I’d say the key is gradual improvement.”
He also says he is hoping that the team continues to improve their record.
“For the upcoming WSOC season, with a new coach, my overall hope is for another improved season. With any new coach, it can take time for everything to mesh together,” said Kelly. “However, with last year’s record an improvement on the team’s 2022 season, hopefully this at least means a spot in the SBC tournament or an even better result!”
The experienced FM88 Sports team members, Ben Westfall and Ethan Peltier, will split duties as play-by-play commentator and color commentator, bringing their unique insights to the broadcast.
The WMUL Pregame Show, starting at 12:45 p.m., will see Ben and Ethan introducing the new roster and discussing their keys to the game. After the final whistle, tune in for the WMUL Postgame Show, where they’ll provide in-depth analysis and breakdown the match highlights.
As anticipation builds for the season, get to know the new faces of the Marshall Women’s Soccer team. Ben Westfall provides an in-depth look at the fresh talent joining the roster this year.
Roster:
#1 Tyra Stenseth GK 5’9 FR.
Fjellhamar, Norway.
Played club soccer for Kolbotn in Norway.
#2 Kajsa Ekstrom D 5’10 JR.
Umea, Sweden
Transfer from Florida Tech earned All-SCC First Team, USC All-Region First Team, D2CCA All-Region first team. Made 21 appearances and 18 starts as a total of 1689 minutes played … Was a key part of a defense that only gave up 0.76 goals per game and recorded one assist. Only 3 shots on goal in 2023. Fast defender.
#3 Maria Chaves D 5’6 FR.
Lisbon, Portugal
Played in 20 matches for the Portugal U17 WNT. Played club soccer in Portugal. Scored 2 goals in U17, 1432 minutes played. Scored both goals against Maritimo on January 7, 2024.
#4 Angel Fowler D 5’8 JR.
Sutton, London, England
Transfer from Monroe-College. Started in 9 games, played 10 total. Scored only one goal last season, three total career goals. 8 shots on goal last season. 856 minutes played total last season. 3 career assists, one last year.
#5 Fernanda Dantas D 5’4 FR.
Salvador, Brazil
Played Club Soccer for Club team Grêmio in Brazil. Played in 8 matches, 588 minutes total for the club. Signed with Marshall on July 3.
#6 Ami Komori MF/F 5’1 JR.
Otsu, Japan
Transfer from St. Bonaventure. 9 career goals, 6 of which came last season in 2023. Started and played all 16 games last season. Got a hat-trick last season at Fordham on September 21, leading her to be Atlantic-10 Co-Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 25, along with Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week Honorable Mention. Finished with a team high 8 points as a freshman in 2022. Before college, played club soccer in Japan for INAC KOBE U-18 squad. Helped the team to the Western Japan Championship.
#9 Ebony Leckey F 5’9 Sr.
Derry, Northern Ireland
Played club soccer for Northern Ireland U19. Also played club for Linfield. 18 career goals for Linfield from 2020-2024. 3 goals scored in 2024. Career high 7 goals in 2023 for Linfield.
#10 Nicole Navarro F 5’9 JR.
Barcelona, Spain
Transfer from Iowa Western Community College. 19 goals in 17 games played last season, along with 6 assists, giving her 44 total points on the season. 29 career goals across two seasons for Iowa Western Community College.
#11 Alice Johansson F 5’8 FR.
Gustafsberg, Sweden
Played club soccer for club team Uddevalla in Sweden. Appeared in 8 total matches last season in 2023.
#12 Emma Durand GK 5’5 FR.
Angers, France
Played club soccer for Nantes in France.
#16 Larissa Ozorio MF 5’3 SO.
Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Transfer from Central Methodist University. As a freshman at CMU, she started 16 out of 20 matches. 7 shots on goals, 11 total shots. 0 goals, however, notched 8 assists.
#18 Emma Shields D 5’2 FR.
Ona, West Virginia
Hometown player that played at Cabell Midland High School. 2023 MSAC all-soccer conference team as a midfielder.
#19 Lea Misch MF 5’6 FR.
Halle (Saale), Germany
36 matches played in her club career for club RB Leipzig in Germany. Scored overall 3 goals in her club time in 24 starts for the club.
#20 Carolina Falcao MF 5’8 FR.
Lisbon, Portugal
Played only one match for the Portugal U18 Women’s National Team (24 minutes played in the match). Played club soccer for Sporting in Portugal. 10 games overall played; 392 total minutes played.
#24 Brooklyn McComas MF 5’4 FR.
Monroe, Ohio
Played club soccer for Cincinnati United Premier.
#26 Rebecca Heath MF FR.
Romford, England
Played club soccer with West Ham United and Hashtag United in England. 6 appearances with West Ham and 1 appearance with Hashtag United.
#27 Elodie Metho — 5’5 JR.
Yaounde, Cameroon
Comes from Faulkner University. Started and played in all 16 games last season. Tallied 7 goals and 3 assists with 15 shots on goal. Overall, 11 goals in her career with 9 assists and 2058 minutes played. 31 total shots on goal in career.
#33 Amelia Compston MF 5’5 SO.
Charleston, West Virginia
Transferred from West Liberty University. Started in 18 of 19 games, playing 1499 minutes as a freshman. Scored 10 goals, along with 6 assists, giving her 26 points on the season. Went 3-3 on PK attempts. Played all 90 minutes in 9 matches’ last season. Was a two-time all-state midfielder for Sissonville High School.
Coaching Staff:
Head Coach- Rafa Simoes
First year at the helm for Coach Simoes. He is the fifth coach in women’s soccer history. Hired on Friday, December 29, 2023. Simoes has spent the last two seasons as an assistant on the men’s staff under head coach Chris Grassie. The men over two years have a record of 29-7-4, including a 2023 Sun Belt Title and the NCAA 1 seed in the tournament. Before Marshall, he was an assistant for Nova Southeastern women’s team in Davie, Florida for two seasons (2021-2022). He was also an assistant for Ohio women’s team in 2019 and 2020. Simoes played at the University of Charleston under Grassie from 2014-17, where Charleston in that span earned a record of 82-8-5 and a 2017 Division II National Championship.
Assistant Coach- Ross Holland
Assistant coach Holland has spent the last three seasons as an assistant coach for the men’s team at West Virginia University. Last season, Holland help lead WVU to the College Cup Semifinals and a top-5 ranking. WVU in the last three seasons have a record of 36-13-14. He also was apart of the National Championship team with Simoes at the University of
Charleston in 2017. “He has been a national champion as a student-athlete and a winner as a coach,” quote from Rafa Simoes.
Assistant Coach/ Director of Operations- Dan O’Connor
2024 Schedule:
@ Drexel (Exhibition) 8/10/2024 6:00pm
Vs Morehead State 8/15 7:00pm
@ Dartmouth College 8/23 7:00pm
@ Harvard 8/26 6:00pm
Vs Belmont 9/1 2:00pm
@ Ohio 9/5 4:00pm
Vs Indiana State 9/8 1:00pm
@ Georiga State * 9/20 7:00pm
@ Texas State * 9/26 8:00pm
Vs Troy * 9/29 1:00pm
Vs Georgia Southern * 10/6 1:00pm
@ Southern Miss * 10/10 8:00pm
Vs App State * 10/13 1:00pm
@ Coastal Carolina * 10/18 3:00pm
@ Old Dominion * 10/23 6:00pm
Vs James Madison * 10/27 1:00pm
Vs Louisiana * 10/30 7:00pm