In 2025 Indiana women's soccer set the foundation for the future, now comes the next step.
Entering his second season as head coach of the Hoosiers, Josh Rife and his coaching staff look to build on a year of growth by turning the progress that was made in 2025 into more success in 2026. Indiana enters the year with a challenging schedule awaiting them. The Hoosiers schedule has them playing 10 home matches and has them traveling on a cross country round trip meaning the Hoosiers have a chance to show the Big Ten and the rest of the country what they can do.
The 2025 season marked the beginning of a new era for Indiana women’s soccer. After six years at Ball State, Rife made his way to Bloomington. The Hoosiers went 3-2-1 in non conference play. Indiana struggled to get wins early in Big Ten play but still found a way to get points by drawing their opponents. The Hoosiers closed out the season by going 2-2-1in their last five games played. Indiana finished the season going 5-6-6 and 2-4-5 in conference play. This was a big step up from where we saw the Hoosiers in 2024 finishing last in the Big Ten. Indiana was three points out from making the Big Ten Tournament in 2025. This was a big transition year for Rife and his Hoosiers team. The Hoosiers look to make it back to the Big Ten Tournament for the first time since 2023 this season.
Indiana has many returning pieces and they are led by goalkeeper Dani Jacobson, a graduate student from Parker, Colorado. Jacobson started 17 of 18 games in her senior year last year for the Hoosiers.
The Hoosier midfield is a veteran-led position with Jenna Chatterton, Kennedy Neighbors and Maggie Ledwith all playing solid minutes for the Hoosiers last season. Chatterton is a grad student who transferred from Tennessee where she played her four undergraduate years. Neighbors is a senior from Evansville, Indiana and started all 17 games for the Hoosiers last season. Ledwith also started a majority of the games for Indiana this past season starting 16 of 17 games. Junior forward Aleyna Quinn started four games for the Hoosiers before she suffered a season ending injury. Quinn will add some stability for Indiana at the forward position in 2026.
The Hoosier defense is led by senior Piper Coffield who unfortunately missed all of the 2025 season but was a key part of the team in her freshman and sophomore year. Getting Coffield back helps solidify the Hoosiers' backline. With Coffield getting sidelined, junior Haden Vlcek helped the defense position for Indiana last year. Vlcek started all 17 games for the Hoosiers last year and looks to play a similar role for the team in 2026. Indiana will lean on these veterans for experience and leadership in 2026.
Indiana opens the season with a pair of exhibition matches against Louisville and Dayton before they open the regular season on Aug. 12 against Hampton at Bill Armstrong Stadium. The Hoosiers’ non-conference slate features Youngstown State, Bellarmine, Xavier, Saint Louis and Ohio. The Hoosiers’ non conference schedule allows them to build up confidence before they open Big Ten play on Sept. 10 against Nebraska.
Indiana will have a major challenge when conference play hits. What makes this part of Indiana's schedule challenging is that they face off against six teams that made the NCAA Tournament last season in Big Ten play. The Hoosiers will have matchups against Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue and Rutgers all at home in Bloomington in front of their home crowd. The Hoosiers road matchups also don’t help the cause as they will travel to Wisconsin and Northwestern. Both Wisconsin and Northwestern finished top 10 in the Big Ten and made the NCAA Tournament last season. They will also make a West Coast road trip to LA to face off against UCLA and USC. The Hoosiers will close off the season in Happy Valley to take on Penn State. There are many opportunities for the Hoosier to make a big statement in Big Ten play.
In all of women’s college soccer the Big Ten is one of the most competitive conferences. The Hoosiers have many opportunities for them to build up momentum before they enter Big Ten play. If the Hoosiers can take advantage of their 10 games at home and are able to withstand the tough West Coast trip, they could position themselves nicely to compete for a spot in the Big Ten Tournament. In year two under Rife, Indiana has a chance to prove themselves to the country and the rest of the Big Ten. The Hoosiers look to show that the program is moving in the right direction and can establish themselves as a Big Ten contender moving forward.
