Women's club soccer exceeds expectations

Among the trees covered in yellow, orange and brown autumn leaves at Karst Farm Park in Bloomington, IU women’s club soccer Coach Jeff Thomas can be heard yelling commands to his team.

The team has multiple wins this season despite returning only nine players, as well as having a new coach and a new home field.

The Hoosiers improved an 8-0-1 record with a 4-0 win against Southern Illinois on Oct. 14 at Karst Farm Park.

The team plays at Karst Farm Park this season because the new IU baseball stadium is being built on the team’s old home field.

Thomas, who spent last year as a volunteer coach for the IU women’s soccer team, said this season’s goals have changed with the team’s continued success.

“Originally I thought it was going to be a rebuilding year because so few players were coming back,” Thomas said. “But it was quickly apparent that there was more talent on this team than I expected and, I think, the team themselves expected.”

The players have allowed only one goal this season.

Sophomore midfielder Emma Winkler was also worried about the uncertainty surrounding this season.

“We were really unsure of how it was going to end up, just because we have a new coach and new players, but it’s gone really well,” Winkler said.

Thomas said 45-50 women tried out for the team, and many of them had other options to play college soccer at other schools on the varsity level. Only 26 made the cut.

Club president and senior defender Lucia Seasly said she has been involved with the club for four years, in a variety of leadership positions. She said she got involved so she could continue playing soccer but still have more free time.

“I just knew I wanted to play soccer in college but also have a life,” Seasly said.
Winkler said she wanted a balance between school, soccer and friends.

“I knew I didn’t want to put in the time commitment for the varsity level, so this is a perfect in-between,” Winkler said.

The team has three practices a week that last about an hour and a half, Thomas said. The women play games nearly every weekend, including some doubleheaders, and compete in the Women’s Midwest Alliance Soccer Conference.

Freshman forward Katie Seelenbinder said she considered playing college soccer but decided against it.

“I knew I wanted to come to Indiana for the business school, but I still wanted to play competitive soccer, and I knew this was a good program to get involved in,” Seelenbinder said.

Seelenbinder also said she loves the camaraderie with her teammates.

“I really enjoy being around the team and having teammates,” she said. “In high school I played basketball and soccer, so I always had teammates to rely on.”

This year, the team wants to return to the national tournament. Last year’s team advanced to the national tournament in Las Vegas by finishing runner-up in the regional tournament in Dayton, Ohio.

This year’s nationals are in Memphis, Tenn., so the team can save money on travel.

“Last year it was a really big expense to have to fly, and this year it would be a lot easier because we can just drive,” Seelenbinder said.

The team will take on Northwestern on Oct. 21 in Evanston, Ill., before the regional tournament Oct. 27-28 in Dayton.