By Nick Jenkinson-SCINN Sports Director <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Indiana Hoosiers Women’s Soccer Team kicked off the 2026 Regular Season with a 2-1 win over the Hampton Pirates Wednesday Night on Jerry Yegaley Field at Bill Armstrong Stadium in Bloomington. Third Year Defender Bella Haggerty scored two goals for her first brace of her career and second and third goals for her career after scoring against Penn State a season ago. Indiana Head Coach Josh Rife is 6-6-2 in his second season in charge of his alma mater and 55-44-27 overall in his eighth season as a head coach. Indiana host Youngstown State on Sunday Afternoon at 1 PM. Indiana beat Youngstown State 6-1 in the season and home opener in 2025. The Hoosiers are 6-1-3 at home since Rife has been in charge and Youngstown State will come into Bloomington with a 0-1 record after a 2-1 road lost at Pittsburgh Wednesday Night. Hampton is 0-1 and this was the first time that Pirates have met the Hoosiers on the pitch and also the first time they have face a power four program. Hampton will be home for their next match on Saturday facing Temple at 1 p.m. at Powhatan Stadium in Norfolk, Virginia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It took a minute and thirty-four seconds for the Hoosiers to score their first goal of the 2026 season when Jenna Chattetron found Bella Haggerty who launched a shot from outside of the box and launched it to the top center of the goal passed Hampton Goalkeeper Avery John as the Hoosiers led 1-0. Indiana put up 7 more shots and 2 shots on goal, but Avery John and the Pirates defense kept the Hoosiers off the scoreboard for the remainder of the first half. Avery John made 2 saves between the pipes for Hampton. Hampton had 1 shot in the first half as Safiya Dean’s shot was off target at the 8:45 mark. Indiana Goalkeeper Dani Jacobson started in goal for the Hoosiers as the fifth-year native of Parker, Colorado did not make a first half save. Hampton committed two fouls and Indiana committed one foul. Indiana had three corner kicks and Hampton did not have corner kick. the Pirates were called offsides one and Indiana was called for offsides three times. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the Second Half the Hoosiers continued to attack forward outshooting Hampton 10-2 and Hampton Junior Goalkeeper Avery John who made 2 saves for the match was down twice being attended to by the training staff after she collided with a Hoosier Player. John was carted off the field at the 51:23 mark and was replaced in goal by Freshman Jacqueline Jenkins who made 3 saves in the remaining 38 minutes and 27 seconds of the match. Haggerty scored her second goal at the 64:17 mark with the assist to Ella Stanley off the corner kick in which Haggerty was in the box and sent it home past Jenkins. Hampton got on the board at the 64:36 mark as Caitlyn Peace scored past Dani Jacobson with the assist to Nylah Jennings and Sierra Bartley. For the Match Indiana outshot Hampton 19-3 and 7-1 in shots on goal. Dani Jacobson her fourth win for Hoosiers between the pipes and now has a 4-2 all-time record as the. Indiana starter. Both Teams committed 3 fouls a piece. Indiana had eight corner kicks and Hampton had one corner kick. Indiana was called for offsides three times and Hampton were called offsides once. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Hoosiers last season had 10 goal scorers, led by returners Maggie Ledwith and Grace Hamm with five and four goals, respectively. Among returners, Aleyna Quinn and Paige Droner followed with two goals apiece, followed by Haden Vlcek, Jenna Chatterton,\u00a0and Bella Haggerty who also found the net for Indiana a season ago. Ledwith also led the team in points with 14, followed by Hamm with nine. Quinn and Droner followed, each recording\u00a0four points. Jenna Chatterton, Vlcek, and Haggerty tallied two points this past season along with Kennedy Neighbors and Ella Stanley each recording one point apiece. \u00a0
In goal, Sally Rainey and Dani Jacobson combined for four shutouts and 64 saves across the 2025 the season. Jacobson also had a solo shutout in a win against Ball State. She looks to continue to be a force in goal for the Hoosiers this season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hampton Head Coach Sam Cain was named the head coach of the Pirates on March 20 and has a career record of 26-11-7. Hampton finished 5-12-1 overall and 0-9 in the Coastal Athletic Conference. Cain inherits a team that returns 14 players from a season ago. \u00a0Nylah Jennings, who was named to the Preseason Honorable Mention All-CAA team on Monday, was the leading scorer last season with five goals and two assists for 12 points.\u00a0Avery John, who had a hand in all three Hampton shutouts in 2025, returns in goal with a 2.07 goals against average and 83 saves in 17 matches. As a team, the Pirates return 77% of their goals and 73% of their assists. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cain arrives at Hampton after serving as head coach at NCAA Division II Wilmington University. In 2025, he led the Wildcats to the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) championship, defeating the top two seeds on the way to the program’s second conference title and third all-time NCAA Tournament appearance. Wilmington posted a 12-3-6 record last season, outscoring opponents 44-16 with a young roster that featured nine underclassmen. The Wildcats earned two wins over nationally ranked opponents, went 2-1-1 against ranked teams overall, and rose as high as No. 16 in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25, the highest ranking in program history. Cain’s teams also excelled in the classroom, compiling a 3.5 team grade-point average in the fall 2025 semester.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before Wilmington, Cain led Iowa Lakes Community College in Spencer, Iowa, to a program-record 14-7-1 mark in 2024, reaching as high as No. 8 nationally in the NJCAA. That season, the Lakers captured the Region 11 Championship and advanced to the North Plains District Championship. During his three seasons at Iowa Lakes, the program increased its win total each year, claimed the first conference title in school history, and produced 12 first team Academic All-Region selections and two second-team honorees, while maintaining at least a 3.0 team GPA each season. In addition to his three years as head coach at Iowa Lakes, Cain brings over a decade of club coaching experience, having worked with various organizations in Connecticut, Iowa, and Delaware. Cain graduated from Post University in 2010, where he helped lead the Eagles to their first CACC Tournament Championship in 2008 as a student-athlete. He competed as a central midfielder during his collegiate career before transitioning into coaching and professional scouting, where he has supported players in pursuing opportunities at the professional level, including trials across Europe and North America.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Nick Jenkinson-SCINN Sports Director The Indiana Hoosiers Women’s Soccer Team kicked off the 2026 Regular Season with a 2-1 win over the Hampton Pirates Wednesday Night on Jerry Yegaley Field at Bill Armstrong Stadium in Bloomington. Third Year Defender Bella Haggerty scored two goals for her first brace of her career and second and …<\/p>\n