Ben Westfall
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.
#7 Bailey Fisher MF/F 5’6 JR.
Hurricane, WV
Played all 17 matches for Marshall last season. Led team with 7 goals, 14 points, and 25 shots. Led SBC with five game-winning goals (3 came off set-pieces). Played 1186 minutes total last season. In high school, was 2019 player of the year, 1st team all-state, AAA State champion.
#8 Luiza Travassos MF 5’6 JR.
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Missed all of last season due to injury. Played all 19 matches with Marshall freshman season in 2022. Started 18. Scored 4 goals, three were PKs (perfect 3-3 on PKs). Played 1418 minutes as a freshman. Attended and played soccer at Escola Eleva for coach Thaissan Passos…Played club for Fluminense FC and represented Brazil U17 and U20 National teams….U18 Women’s National Champion, Captain for U18 Championship with Fluminense.
#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.
#13 Rylie McKinney D/MF 5’3 R-FR.
Monroe, Ohio
Redshirted last season for Marshall. From and attended Monroe High School in Ohio. Had 6 goals and 2 assists her senior year of high school.
#14 Katie Porter D/MF 5’6 SO.
Tampa, Florida
Played in 17 matches last season as a freshman. Started 2. One assist on the year (against Miami (OH) on 9/7). Season high 66 minutes against Georgia St. on 10/14. 619 total minutes played last season. Dominant sophomore year in high school for Cambridge Christian School in Tampa. Awarded offensive player of the year and All-American by the NCSSA her sophomore year.
#15 Ava Hall MF 5’5 SR.
Scott Depot, West Virginia
Started all but one match last year her junior year for Marshall. 3 shots on goal in 1028 minutes played. 2923 total minutes played in her Marshall career in three years. 37 starts in three years. Attended high school at Winfield. 2020 WV player of the year. 2019 midfielder of the year, first-team all-state in 2019. Was in player pool for Scotland and the Netherlands.
#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.
#17 Cameron Dye D 5’9 SO.
Powell, Ohio
14 games played, 1 started freshman year last season. Only 287 minutes played. Season high 39 minutes played at Indiana State on 8/24. 1 goal and 3 assists her senior year of high school in 17 games played for Olentangy Liberty High School.
#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.
#21 Abigail Gerretsen MF 5’4 SO.
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Transfer from Southern Illinois. Appeared in 7 matches’ last season. 133 total minutes played with a season high 35 minutes against Valparaiso on 10/12. layed high school at De La Salle College, was a 2023 CISAA Sr. Champion and OFSAA 2023 Ontario Provincial Sr. Finalist.
#24 Brooklyn McComas MF 5’4 FR.
Monroe, Ohio
Played club soccer for Cincinnati United Premier.
#25 Madison Townes D 5’5 JR.
Aldie, Virginia
Has had injury troubles in both seasons with Marshall. Appeared and started 4 matches last season before being knocked out the rest of the season. 337 minutes, 2 shots, 75+ minutes in all 4 matches. 18 total matches played in career. 1518 total minutes. Played high school soccer at John Champe High School.
#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.
#28 Alyssa Hardin F 5’2 SR.
Royersford, Pennsylvania
Made 10 starts across 17 matches last season, playing 768 minutes. Scored first and only career goal in season opener at Morehead State on 8/17. Only career assist came last season against Gardner-Webb on Sept. 3. 11 career shots on goal. 12 career starts across 48 total games and 1614 total career minutes. Career high all 90 minutes played in season finale at Louisiana on 10/26.
#32 Ashlyn Drayer GK 5’6 SO.
Chesterland, Ohio
Made her first appearance last season on Sept. 21 against James Madison when Alexis Wolgemuth went down with injury. After that, started the final eight games of the season. Collected 45 saves. Game high 9 saves against App State and Georgia Southern last season.
#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.
#99 Alexis Wolgemuth GK 5’7 JR.
Lincolnton, North Carolina
Sophomore season cut short due to injury. Started 9 games last season before injury. Pitched five shutouts last season, 6th most all-time in program history. Tallied 117 saves, two-time Sun Belt goalkeeper of the week last season. Had a 5-3-1 record at the Net last season. 57 saves her freshman season in 14 games played. Overall career goal average of 1.33. Was Conference player of the year in high school, along with 3x all-conference, 3x all-region, 2x all-state, conference defensive player of the year as a freshman. Also was US club soccer 2019 and 2021 regional champions, along with US Club soccer national champions in 2021.
Roster Breakdown:
Seniors- 3
Juniors- 9
Sophomores- 6
Freshmen- 11
Total players- 29
Returning players- 10
Newcomers- 19
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
2023 Season:
7-9-1 overall record. 2-8-0 conference record.
5-5 at home; 2-4-1 on the road.
Started the season 5-0-1. Lost the next 4, starting conference play 0-3. Finished 2-5 after that.
Injuries happened to key players, including Luiza Travassos and Alexis Wolgemuth
Key players lost from last season:
Abi Hugh: transferred to NC State. 2 goals and 4 assists last season with 1289 minutes played. Been a strong captain for the team over four seasons, logging a career 5036 minutes played.
Cassidy Bell: transferred to Nevada. 2 goals and 1 assist last season. Has started 49 and played 51 games in her three years at Marshall, 4307 career minutes.
Makai Laguines: transferred to Kennesaw State. 1 goal scored and 959 minutes played with 14 starts, 15 games played. 4 career goals and 4 assists at Marshall in two years.
Kellyn Fausel: transferred to Akron. Started 12 games as a freshman on the backline for the Herd last season. Logged 910 minutes.
Demari Curry: transferred to the University of Charleston. Logged 224 minutes last season as a sophomore across 14 games played. Scored 1 goal.