FAYETTE, Iowa - The Upper Iowa women's soccer team starts play under first-year head coach Patrick Ritter on Thursday. The Peacocks face Minnesota Crookston on Thursday, Sept. 4, at 3 p.m.

MEET THE PEACOCKS: RETURNERS
On the offensive side, UIU's top returning scorer is junior Haylie Hutchinson. The forward scored three goals and tallied three assists in 2024. 

"We're looking at moving her to a different position to be a little bit more involved in the offense," Ritter said. "We think we can increase her goal scoring by the way she moves and the way she can attack players."

Defensively, junior Maile Kehano is back after leading the team in minutes last season with 1,345. She also made an impact offensively with four assists and a goal against Bemidji State (Minn.). 

"Maile is coming back as one of our big production players in the back line," Ritter said. "She's probably also our best crosser. You'll see her taking corners, and she'll come up and put a lot of balls in. She has very good accuracy with those crosses and is gonna increase her assist rate big time this year. She's such a workhorse defensively, and her positioning is excellent."

Junior midfielder Jessica Ancheta also returns for the program after playing 1,224 minutes and adding two assists last season. She had a big summer playing with Fever United in the Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL).

"She got a lot of experience playing with players in other divisions, including Division I players," Ritter said. "She learned how to take more control and be more of an offensive threat. Last year, she played defensively in the midfield, and we're trying to utilize her skills to give her more freedom in the attack."

Senior defender Natalie Lima also highlights the Peacock backline. Lima started 12 games for Upper Iowa last season and totaled 1,085 minutes.

"She's been a good leader and taken that role as a senior of working the hardest and being in the right positions," Ritter said. "We recently played her in a different position and she embraced it right away and was asking questions on how she can be more productive there. That's what you want out of a senior leader to step into the position of putting the team first and playing what the team needs."

MEET THE PEACOCKS: NEWCOMERS
The Peacocks welcomed nine newcomers to the roster this season with seven freshmen and two transfers. One of them will be in the net in freshman goalkeeper Sienna Johnson out of Oceanside, California. 

"She's come in and instantly made big saves and she's been communicating really well with the back line," Ritter said. "All of the defenders have said she's done a really good job of organizing them and talking with them. That's a really big deal for a goalkeeper. To have that leadership as a freshman is very impressive."

A local player, Rhea Buchanan out of Cedar Falls High School, has also stood out in scrimmages as well.

"We've played her in a couple of different positions and she's found ways to be productive in those positions," Ritter said. "Her fitness is top notch and if we needed her to play 90 minutes she could. Having that fitness and versatility is going to be really big for her."

Freshman midfielder Natasha Toxqui is another potential immediate impact player for the Peacocks. 

"She's shown it in practice, instantly finding a way to score goals," Ritter said. "That's always tough for an incoming freshman trying to figure out where they fit in. She instantly was getting in good spots and finishing shots."

GLVC POLL
Upper Iowa was picked 12th in the 2025 GLVC Preseason Coaches' Poll, receiving 52 points. Reigning GLVC Champion Maryville (Mo.) was picked first with 188 points, slightly edging out Drury (Mo.) with 186 points. Both teams earned seven first-place votes. 

"We definitely want to move forward as only the top eight from the GLVC make the conference soccer tournament," Ritter said. "We have to find ways to beat some teams above us. Finding those correct opponents and the correct way to play against them is going to be a challenge for everyone."

2025 Women's Soccer Preseason Poll
1. Maryville 188 (7)
2. Drury 186 (7)
3. McKendree 162
4. Rockhurst 155 (1)
5. Missouri-St. Louis 148
6. Indianapolis 120
7. Illinois Springfield 118
8. Truman State 95
9. Missouri S&T 90
10. Quincy 89
11. Lewis 77
12. Upper Iowa 52
13. William Jewell 37
14. Southwest Baptist 33
15. Lincoln 25

SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE
Upper Iowa has four nonconference games before starting GLVC play. After Thursday's contest with Minnesota Crookston, the team heads east to Chicago for a contest against Roosevelt (Ill.) on Sunday, Sept. 7, at 1 p.m. 

The Peacocks play Southwest Minnesota State in Marshall and Jamestown (N.D.) in Fayette the weekend after. This is Jamestown's first season in Division II after a move from the NAIA. GLVC play starts in Indianapolis against UIndy on Friday, Sept. 19. 

"We ended up getting NSIC heavy with three teams that are going to be tough competitors for us," Ritter said. "For us coming in, my first full season, we have a lot of new players and it's about hitting the ground running and playing competitive matches right off the bat. The closer games we can play at the start the better it will suit us for our conference play later on."

ABOUT THE GOLDEN EAGLES
Minnesota Crookston went 1-15-2 last season and was picked 16th in the NSIC in 2025's preseason poll. The matchup will feature two first-year head coaches, as Danny Burstein begins his first season with the Golden Eagles. 

The team brings back 10 players who earned a start last season. UMC's top defender is junior Tessa VanOverbeke, who played 1,531 minutes last season. Senior Sarah Burgum is also back after tying for the team lead in goals with two. 

ABOUT THE LAKERS
Roosevelt went 0-13-4 last season, but tied with Lewis (Ill.) in their lone nonconference game against a GLVC opponent. Head coach Tom Czop enters his sixth season at the helm of Roosevelt. Czop also serves as the Associate Director of Athletics

The Lakers lost top scorer Macias Paola to graduation. She totaled two goals and one assist. Senior Daisy Hernandez-Loya is back after tying for the team-high in goals with two last season. Goalkeeper Roxy Herrera is also back for her senior campaign after totaling 130 saves in 2024.