By John Ostapowicz
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – With new head coach Rich Walls, the Youngstown State University women’s soccer team faces a tough schedule filled with Power Four.
The team is coming off a 5-11-2 overall record with only three Horizon League conference wins last season.
Wall was hired at the start of this year after the abrupt retirement of the former head coach, Brian Shrum, in November. Shrum spent seven seasons at the helm of the program, leading YSU to a single season wins record. He also brought YSU to its first and only appearance in the Horizon League Championship game in 2022.
Wall became the eighth head coach in program history.
He spent the last two seasons at Mercyhurst University, transitioning the program from Division II to Division I level in 2024. Wall was also named the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West Coach of the Year in 2023. He brings 13 years of collegiate soccer experience to Youngstown State.
Wall says the transition was a lot of fun, but there were challenges associated with it. At YSU, he plans to take what he learned from his experience at Mercyhurst, translate it into the program and help establish a team culture.
“What we tried to do is create a really competitive and challenging environment, which is what we’re trying to do here [at YSU] this year in terms of our training sessions, but also our nonconference schedule,” Wall says. “Lots of challenges along the way, but lots of opportunity to grow, learn and get better.”
For any program, building a new culture starts with recruiting and coaching. Wall began adding assistant soccer coaches to the roster. Michele Barletta, Avery Fenchel and Taryn Baxter, joined the team with each coach bringing their own style to the program.
BUILDING BLOCKS
Youngstown State returns several key players and program building blocks, including seniors Taylor Berry, Chloe Weiland, Mara Jaracz and Emma Rigone. All have been with the program since beginning their college careers.
Berry, who is now a senior, found success in her freshman year. She scored four goals and had one assist and was ultimately named to the Horizon League All-Freshman Team.
Entering his first year at the helm, Wall looked globally for recruits and brought in players such as junior Aimee Benton from St. Francis University, who hails from Australia, and junior Camille Bultel from Mercyhurst, originally from France.
“The recruiting process was a blend that kind of speaks to the global side of things, but then there’s been a really big emphasis on just getting the best players that we can, regardless of where they’re from,” he says. “The 2025 class is blended a little bit between coach Shrum and myself.”
TOUGH SCHEDULE
Another change for the Penguins will be the strength of schedule.
Out of 18 games, 11 are road contests, while seven are home games. Four of those matches are against Power Four opponents — Indiana University Bloomington, Texas Tech University, University of Missouri and the University of Michigan. Last season, all four schools combined for a 29-37-8 overall record.
The program will also play St. John’s University and South Carolina State University for the first time in program history.
Wall says the reason for the tough schedule is to prepare the team for Horizon League programs such as the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, which has represented the conference in the last seven NCAA Division I women’s soccer tournaments.
“When we look at Indiana, Texas Tech, Missouri to open the season, the idea there is really ‘Let’s go out there and play teams that would probably be at the high end of the Horizon League in an average year.’ We’re going to see everything we need to see really in the first three games from a competitive standpoint, a fitness standpoint and just put ourselves under a lot of adversity,” Wall said.
Last season the offensive attack was led by Weiland and redshirt sophomore Sara Felder, who combined for six of the team’s 16 total goals – the lowest goal total since the 2021 season, when the Penguins recorded 10.
Wall says he wants the team to be exciting and explosive on the attacking side of the ball while playing strong defense.
“Part of that integration of the returners and the new players is finding which partnerships work best in front of the goal, what players help us advance the ball and get into dangerous areas when it comes time [to put] the ball in the back of the net,” Wall said. “At some point this season, it’ll start to click for us.”
For the Penguins, redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Maya Naimoli returns to help solidify strong net protection. She transferred to YSU from The Ohio State University in 2024. She saved 96 shots in her first year, maintained a 75.6% save percentage and recorded three shutouts.
FINDING RECRUITS
Wall said the selling point during recruiting is YSU’s campus, referring to it as a “hidden gem,” which helps recruiting efforts.
“Once they’re here, it’s pretty easy to sell people because there’s everything you need to be the best [and] most complete student athlete that you want to be. That’s something that we have to keep trying to go after, whether it’s transfers or our four-year players,” Wall says.
He is making only a few minor positional changes on the team this coming year.
“We’re counting on our older players — our returners — to provide some of that stability and leadership, but we’re also going to challenge our new players to come in and ruffle some feathers and make some more positional conversations in the office and tougher decisions,” Wall said.
Rigone, a senior leader on the team, says the coaching transition from Shrum to Wall was a comfortable experience.
“They’re two different people, but they both care about us as individuals so much, the transition honestly has been pretty smooth. It’s been nice to see things from a different set of eyes. Whether on the field or in the classroom,” she says.
Rigone’s reason for committing [to YSU] was the team chemistry. That has always been something very special to her.
“Me and other seniors have done a good job of making newcomers and freshmen feel comfortable,” she says. “We do a good job of hanging out outside of soccer. We do team bonding all the time. On the field, it’s always pushing each other. It’s always wanting the best for each other, no matter what we do.”
Youngstown State opens its season at 8 p.m. Aug. 14 in Bloomington, Ind. The team will stay on the road for two more contests against Texas Tech and Missouri before returning home to play St. Bonaventure University at 1 p.m. on Aug. 24. That match will be televised on ESPN+, while live stats are available on ysusports.com.
Pictured at top: Practice is underway for the YSU women’s soccer team, which begins the season Aug. 14 against Indiana University Bloomington.