Auburn, ME – CMCC Women's Soccer prepares to start its 2025 campaign on Monday night, kicking off against NCAA DIII opposition in Thomas College. The Mustangs are looking for another successful season, two years removed from their YSCC Tournament championship.
Central Maine is coming off a 7-6-3 overall record. The team faced a challenging schedule in the opening four weeks, playing five NCAA games as well as USCAA DI squad UMaine Fort Kent. That high strength of schedule set the stage for a great run in the YSCC though. The Mustangs went unbeaten against conference opposition for the first time in program history, settling for the #2 seed in the playoffs on a tiebreaker with NHTI.
However, CMCC's run of nine straight games without a loss against teams at their level came to an end in the tournament semifinals, falling to #3 seed Paul Smith's College in New York. That prevented the team from booking a return trip to the USCAA national tournament, but there were still plenty of accolades to be had. Head coach Rob Rodriguez received YSCC Coach of the Year honors for the first time, three players were All-Conference selections, Emma Knowles was Goalkeeper of the Year, and she was joined by Madi Turcotte and Destiny Mooers on the All-American list.
This year's squad features nine returners from last season in Madison Valentine, Haley Wing, Lily Caban, Bianca Gilmore, Alaynah LeBlond, Heather Nelson, Olivia Varney, Milena Strickland, and Emma Koch. All but one of whom featured in 12 or more games. Varney is the only returning YSCC All-Conference selection, scoring 6 goals and adding 4 assists in her freshman campaign. Caban and LeBlond each had a pair of tallies with Strickland also scoring a game-winner. Gilmore, Nelson, and Koch return to a back line that allowed only six goals in seven conference matches, while Valentine and Wing will offer plenty in midfield.
Sarah Labbe is back after sitting out a season, with the Biddeford, ME native ready to contribute offensively. There are also three transfers suiting up for the Mustangs after a year or more off the field. Gloria San Pedro is from UMaine Farmington and played last year for CMCC's women's hockey team. Ksenya Sorterup was on the Clarks Summit University team before its closure in 2023-24, and Mikayla Martorano played for arch rival SMCC.
Twelve newcomers arrive to round out the 25-player roster, the largest ever for the women's soccer program. The biggest change will be in net as three first-years, Kloee Pelletier, Jordan Blanton, and Devyn Eliasen, vie for the starting goalkeeper position. On defense, Meghan Remington, Grace Espeaignnette, Kenzi Richards, Mana Abdow, and Elli Nendza are set to compete for time. Zion Armstrong, Jaelyn Poitras, Ryleigh Pelletier, and Kiki Shepherd will contribute in the midfield and forward roles.
The squad hits the ground running, playing four games in the first week of the season. NCAA schools Thomas and Husson are first up on Monday and Tuesday with visits to NJCAA opponents CCRI and Holyoke CC this weekend. They open the conference portion of the schedule against Vermont State University-Randolph on September 7th.
"I think the schedule is the best we've had since I've been here," said coach Rodriguez. "We're playing a lot of games. There's a good balance of home and away, and we play some tough teams to help test us. In terms of the roster, there's some big shoes to fill, but I think this may be the most depth and quality we've had across the board."
The Mustangs will look to make another run at the YSCC title with the added bonus of Central Maine Community College hosting the conference tournament's final four on November 1st and 2nd.
