With just under a week to go before its preseason opener against Notre Dame, Northwestern Women’s Soccer is back in session with a fresh roster ready to be tested in 2026.
The ‘Cats have lost six total players to graduation — including two major players in Brooke Miller and Caterina Regazzoni — but fortunately, six new talented recruits are rounding out the 27-player roster in Evanston this year, some of whom already possess international experience.
Northwestern’s 2026 season is shaping up to be the
most competitive in its recent history. Here’s what to expect from the ‘Cats — both old and new — this year.
Goalkeepers
The pecking order of the goalkeepers seems to be pretty set in stone for 2026, and it’s no secret why: Nyamma Nelson had a spectacular first year as a Wildcat, playing all but 19 minutes and setting Northwestern’s first year single-season shutout record. With a deserving callup to the United States U-19 National Team camp in late June, Nelson is sure to keep her starting role as a sophomore goalkeeper at the expense of senior CJ Roy and newcomer Kadance Radwanski. Roy saw just 19 minutes of action last year, and it’s unlikely that she will see much playing time this year.
Radwanski, who won an U-18/19 ECNL National Title with her youth club Michigan Hawks, seems more likely to secure the backup role. Though she might not play in major conference games, its likely that head coach Michael Moynihan hands her minutes in low stakes non-conference games.
Defenders
Miller was a critical component of Northwestern’s defense in 2025. With her absence, Northwestern’s back line is working with somewhat of a deficit, but it’s not starting from scratch.
Sophomore Audrey Alberts already has a host of experience as a collegiate center back, playing a team-high 1,901 minutes last year. Senior Maddie Finnerty returns alongside Alberts in the center, and will seek to anchor the defense while leading with poise.
The bigger question is who fills out the rest. First-year Gwen Zimmerman, who has made waves competing for Wales on the youth and senior national teams, could be an answer. Though listed as a defender/midfielder on NU’s roster, Zimmerman looked to have played a deeper center midfield role in high school and could easily be moved to the outside.
The same applies to Naomi Lofthouse: another first-year with a strong resumé. Hailing from Canada, Lofthouse played for Northern Super League club Ottawa Rapid FC on a youth development permit and represented Canada at the U-17 Women’s World Cup. She has played an attacking mid/forward role in the past, which makes one wonder whether she’s being lined up to take up a role as a competitive outside back.
Sophomore Gabby Anderson (490 minutes, one goal) and senior Keira Wagner (415 minutes, one assist), who trained with the Philippines national team in June, will also fight for bigger roles this fall. Junior Olivia Elliott, sophomore Selma Sol Sigurjonsdottir and first-year Amber Weaver round out the depth for the Wildcats. Weaver joins her Michigan Hawks teammates Radwanski and Elle Phillips to add some pre-built chemistry to Northwestern’s program.
Midfielders
Sophomore Keira Kemmerley steps into Regazzoni’s vacated midfield after an All-Big Ten Freshman season and a U-19 National Team call-up. She’ll pair with Ava Goodin, a junior whose experience and extreme versatility — which made her a staple in the starting XI last season — will be useful for a midfield looking to redefine itself in a post-Regazzoni era.
Senior Holland Carey and junior Alex Fallon will make their returns from injuries that ended their 2025 seasons early: Carey started 12 of her 13 appearances, while Fallon notched seven points in eight appearances.
The aforementioned Phillips rounds out the Michigan Hawks newcomer trio. She’s a first-year who has gotten a lot of praise in youth club circles in the midwest and can into the field of options in the middle, even if as a super sub.
First-year Camryn Freeman has an abundance of accolades from her high school career, but it’ll be difficult for her to break into this deep of a position group. Seniors Presley Nevadomsky and Sarah O’Donnell appear to be in a similar position as they enter their final season at NU.
Attackers
The attack escaped the offseason largely unscathed. Junior Kennedy Roesch, Northwestern’s top scorer with 23 points last season, returns alongside Megan Norkett, who finished third in goals last season. The pair’s established chemistry and understanding of the collegiate game should cause matchup problems all season.
Kate Hennen started outside them a year ago as a sophomore, but now-sophomore Liz Cardwell — who led the team in assists in 2025 — may compete for her spot. With a bit of trust from Coach Moynihan, Cardwell could make a breakthrough in the early portion of the season.
On the periphery are Mary Stroebel, Quinn Erim and Kayla Kamdem. Stroebel, a junior, and Erim, a sophomore, are working back from injuries and seem unlikely to make immediate impacts. Kamdem, a three-time provincial top scorer from Québec, could potentially pair well with Norkett if she grabs minutes.
Overall
All things considered, Coach Moynihan isn’t afraid to defy standards to give people playing time. If they are the right player, they are playing on the right field. Not many could have predicted from the beginning of the 2025 season that Nyamma Nelson would become the first-choice goalkeeper in her first year as a Wildcat, nor could they have guessed that Audrey Alberts would become the team’s most utilized player of 2025 as a first year.
With an expectation that a maturing squad advances further into the postseason and places higher in the Big Ten than it did in 2025, Northwestern’s 2026 additions to its roster will rise to the challenge in ways that might surprise ‘Cats faithful. It may require a bit of workshopping and development as the season goes on to achieve the result, but with the level of talent this team possesses it is certainly not outside the realm of possibility.
