The Basics
Drake women's soccer is ready to begin its 2026 campaign this week as it starts the season with a Rocky Mountain road trip. The Bulldogs open the season on Thursday, August 13 against Wyoming from Laramie and then head down to Colorado Springs on Sunday, August 16 to challenge Colorado College. Kickoff against Wyoming is slated for 3 p.m. CT. and the match with Colorado College will begin at 1 p.m. CT.
 
Bulldogs by the Numbers
Drake, the 2025 Missouri Valley Conference Regular Season champion, is poised for another title run in 2026 and was recently voted as the preseason favorite in the league. The Bulldogs received 96 total points in the poll with seven first place votes. Drake also had four student-athletes named to the MVC Preseason Team in Isabella Balsley, Angela Gutierrez, Zoey Mahoney, and Alanna Pennington. The 2026 roster for the Bulldogs features 14 upperclassmen (eight seniors, six juniors) and 14 underclassmen (eight sophomores, six freshmen).
 
Key Returners (2025 stats)
Isabella Balsley– 13 points, 6 goals, 1 assist
Angela Gutierrez – 9 points, 2 goals, 5 assists
Zoey Mahoney – 5 points, 2 goals, 1 assist, 1,540 minutes
Alanna Pennington – 2 points, 1 goal, 1,261 minutes
Addie Ford – 9-5-3 record, 52 saves, 12 goals allowed, 6 shutouts
 
Scouting Wyoming
Wyoming finished 2025 at 7-6-6 overall and 2-4-4 in Mountain West Conference play. For the 2026, the Pokes will look for a little more consistency in hopes of making a MWC title run. On the pitch, Alyssa Glover returns as a goal-scoring threat following a league-leading 11 goals in 2025 and Haley Bartel is back in goal for Wyoming. Last season Bartel logged eight shutouts and owned a league-best GAA of 0.89.

The Cowgirls and Bulldogs opened the season in Des Moines last year and finished with a 1-1 draw. Wyoming possesses a 3-1-2 edge in the all-time series, however,  including 1-0-1 mark in contests from Laramie.
 
Wyoming Key Returners (2025 stats)
Alyssa Glover – 25 points, 11 goals, 3 assists
Kiley Ballek – 8 points, 3 goals, 2 assists
Haley Bartel – 7-6-6 record, 52 saves, 17 goals allowed, 8 shutouts

Scouting Colorado College  
Colorado College compiled a 5-6-7 overall record and a 2-3-5 mark in the Mountain West last season. The Tigers finished in eighth place in the league in 2025 and just missed out on postseason qualification. For 2026, Colorado College was voted fifth in the MWC Preseason Poll. CC returns its top two goal scorers from a season ago in Kendall Memoly and Finley Schoenbeck and also has Regan Wallace back in net following a season where she posted six clean sheets.

Drake is 0-2 all-time against Colorado College with the previous matches coming in 2003 and 2009. Both of those contests were played from Colorado Springs.
 
Colorado College Key Returners (2025 stats)
Kendall Memoly – 13 points, 6 goals, 1 assist
Finley Schoenbeck – 11 points, 4 goals, 3 assists
Regan Wallace – 5-6-7 record, 81 saves, 20 goals allowed, 6 shutouts

Up Next
Drake begins a five-game homestand between Aug. 20-Sep. 2 when it returns from the Rockies. The Bulldogs begin the home stretch versus Iowa State with a 5 p.m. kickoff from Mediacom Stadium next Thursday.