KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- After going 2-0 in exhibition play, the Western Michigan women's soccer team will open the 2025 regular season with a tough test. The Broncos will square off with No. 2 Notre Dame on Thursday night at 7 PM at Alumni Field. 

WELCOME BACK
Coming off of a historic season, Western Michigan has a wealth of talent returning in 2025. The Broncos return key pieces, including Madi Canada, Mira Pierre-Webster, Heidi Thomasma and Abby Werthman. 

Canada, Thomasma and Werthman were named to the United Soccer Coaches All-Region Team in 2024, and the trio also earned All-MAC honors. Werthman is the team's leading returning scorer, finishing last season with 33 points on 12 goals and nine assists. Canada led all midfielders in scoring, collecting eight points on one goal and six assists. 

Pierre-Webster returns after missing the 2024 season due to injury. However, she was the MAC Defensive Player of the Year in 2023 and played every minute during that season. 

PRESEASON FAVORITES
For the second consecutive season, Western Michigan opens the year as the preseason favorite in the MAC. The league's preseason coaches poll was released on Tuesday, with the Brown and Gold leading the way with 135 points and eight first-place votes. 

WMU has won back-to-back conference regular season championships and hasn't lost a game in conference play over the last two seasons. In that time frame, the Broncos are 16-0-6. 

Buffalo (128 points, 4 FPV), Ohio (123), UMass (114, 1 FPV) and Bowling Green (93) rounded out the top five of the poll. The Broncos beat Buffalo in last year's MAC Tournament championship game. 

DREW DELIVERS
Primarily coming off the bench in her first three seasons, Drew Martin enters her senior year as a prominent piece in the midfield for the Broncos. 

In two exhibitions, Martin showed what she can do, scoring two goals and dishing out an assist in wins over Purdue Fort Wayne and Northwestern. 

Martin has nine points on three goals and three assists in her career. She has played in 46 career games, making seven starts. 

FEARSOME FORWARDS
After leading the NCAA in points last season, Jen Blitchok graduated and moved on to professional soccer, leaving the Broncos with big shoes to fill. 

With that, WMU went out and secured three forwards from the transfer portal. Mikayla Coore-Pascal (Kansas), Kiya Gilliand (Wisconsin) and Justina L'Esperance (Northern Michigan) joined the program this summer, looking to help the Broncos maintain the MAC's top offense.

Gilliand scored in an exhibition win over Purdue Fort Wayne and L'Esperance has 71 points on 29 goals and 13 assists in her career. Coore-Pascal played in four games for the Jayhawks last season.