Whiskers: about the Northwestern Women’s Soccer Wildcats

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We have an exciting group of new Wildcats this season. Seven talented and bright young ladies that you will love getting to know over the next few years.  And we have three of them right here!

Camryn Freeman, Elle Phillips and Amber Weaver are here to tell us about coming to Evanston, their impressions of college soccer, what they love about their new team and so much more.

Camryn Freeman is a midfielder from Lancaster, California and L.A. Surf Club.

Elle Phillips is a midfielder from Clarkston, Michigan and Michigan Hawks.

Amber Weaver is a defender from Ann Arbor, Michigan and Michigan Hawks (yes they were club teammates).

1:00 Introductions and New Things

3:20 - Favorite team moments so far

4:50 - What college soccer has been like so far

6:00 - The first encounters with people on the team

7:00 - First impressions of Coach Rich

8:20 - Things that seemed scary that aren't so bad

9:40 - The 'Cats describe themselves as a player

11:50 - Something their teammates have already learned about them

13:45 - Favorite places in Evanston so far

15:10 - Things to know about Camryn, Elle and Amber

18:30 - Biggest adjustments from club soccer and college soccer

20:00 - Advice from veteran players that has stuck - (Shoutouts to Alex Fallon, Kate Hennen and Kennedy Roesch)

22:00 RAPID FIRE QUESTIONS - So much to enjoy here!

26:10 - Next summer, what do you want to remember about this season?

26:40- What are you most excited about in your first season?

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What happens when six teammates move off campus together?  You are going to find out in this episode filled with new things as a we start a new season of Northwestern Soccer.

Co-host Ava Goodin is joined by two of her new housemates:  Kate Hennen and Mary Stroebel.  Like many Northwestern students, these juniors have moved off campus after two years.  And they have moved into the 2nd floor of a house with three of their junior teammates:  Kennedy Roesch, Alex Fallon and Olivia Elliott.  

You will learn about the personalities of these teammates, some of their early adventures together and what it's like to live and breathe soccer as the fall season approaches. Here we go!

NOTE: This episode was recorded on August 7, prior to the start of the regular season.  Many great and exciting topics were covered that you will enjoy!

1:15 ICEBREAKERS 

• Highlights of Training Camp
• What is it like to be a junior?  
• Why are you being called "UNC" by a teammate?
• Advice for the "Younger Crowd"
• What does Coach Rich think is going on at the house?
• What part of their games have improved since coming to Northwestern?
• What are they bringing to the team this year besides quality on the field?

11:00 Reactions to the first exhibition game on August 5th

12:00 The mind shift that happens when the regular season starts

14:25 What they want people watching Northwestern for the first time will notice.

16:00 RAPID FIRE QUESTIONS (House mates theme)

22:30 Advice to High School athletes for success at the college level

24:20 Ciao!

**Check out the Macchia Taste Test Tik Tok hosted by Mary, Liz Cardwell and Keira Wagner (LMKLMK)

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It's a new season for the team...and for the pod.  

We thought we would start right at the top.  Today, we're joined by Jane Wagner, Northwestern's Associate Athletic Director for Sport Administration—and our women's soccer sport administrator.

Jane played softball at Iowa State University.  She brings her love of sports, her experience as a Division 1 athlete AND her commitment to service to our soccer program.  She is a hands on supervisor.  At any point in our soccer season, you will see Jane

• Checking in with players on meetings, assignments, academics, injuries, soccer and more (AKA getting our stuff done)
• Directing the bus to the right spot to pick us up
• Handing out drinks at games or training sessions
• Help us with the bags and equipment
• Solving all last-minute emergencies
• Encouraging us with her energy and a quick high-five

Of course, she does a lot more behind the scenes.  She makes sure we are running smoothly with our budget, housing, food, equipment, financial aid, schedule and ALL THE THINGS Northwestern Soccer.

Before we jump in, thank you for listening to Whiskers. Wherever you're finding us, please follow, subscribe, and leave us a positive review. It helps us grow the Whiskers community, and we're grateful for your support. Now, let's get to it!

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As we wrapped up our 2025-26 school year last month, we caught up with some of our most experienced players to explore their biggest takeaways and memories.  

You will hear from rising Seniors Megan Norkett and Sarah O'Donnell and graduating players Brooke Miller and Kelsey Kwon as they recall and discuss what an unforgettable experience they had with this year's Northwestern Wildcats.

1:00 - Introduce yourself, right on!

3:00 - One Word to describe this past year

6:00 - What were the funniest team moments behind the scenes?  

You will hear about weddings, Northwestern Men's Soccer, the Northwestern Lacrosse NCAA Championship, road trips and bus rides, Coach Michael Moynihan trying to pick up new slang, shaved eyebrows and ankles!!!

9:00 - The ways in which Northwestern Women's Soccer has changed us.

13:00 - Grandma Time - Kelsey and Brooke: What comes next for you right after you graduate?  (soccer, work, living, friends...)

15:15 - What will Megan and Sarah take from our graduates that they can implement this coming year? (Our eyes get a bit misty on this one...)

18:15 - What excites Kelsey and Brooke most about being a fan of the 2026 Wildcats soccer team?

20:30 - RAPID FIRE QUESTION TIME

- Teammate Superlatives - Find out who is the best and most...

- Either/Or

- Summer Questions

- Favorite Northwestern Traditions

-One thing every Northwestern athlete should experience (Good answer, Brooke)

26:45 - One piece of advice for young athletes looking to play in college.

A new season will be upon us soon.  Stay tuned for more episodes with great stories and insights!

Meet this Episode's 'Cats

Kelsey Kwon - 5th year graduate from Seattle, Washington.  Majored in Econ Business as an undergrad. Master's degree in Data Science.

Brooke Miller - graduating Senior from Naperville, Illinois. Graduated with a degree in Journalism.

Megan Norkett- rising Senior from Naperville, Illinois.  Majoring in Communications with a minor in Psychology.

Sarah O'Donnell - rising Senior from Ashburn, Virginia (family now lives in upstate New York).  Majoring in Psychology with a minor in Global Health. 

Host - Ava Goodin - rising Junior from Collierville, Tennessee. Majoring in Journalism.

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Here at Northwestern, there are many people who work to help us perform at our best.  We love how dedicated they are to their craft.  And they make our experience world-class.  We present another episode of Support Staff Speed Dating.

Courtney Chramowicz, Sports Dietitian, helps us fuel for maximum performance. Courtney plans our team meals, organizes fueling on game day,  on road trips and more.  Most importantly, she works with each player individually to give us a road map to be at our best.

Courtney tells us about herself and how she became a Sports Dietitian.  Then she gives us her thoughts on the best way to eat and fuel your way to top performance.  You will enjoy hearing about the importance of protein, carbs and gut health.  And you will learn why she says sports nutrition is like keeping your gas tank filled in all the right ways.  

3:15 What does a sports dietitian do?

6:40 Courtney's top advice for a soccer player's Winning Diet

8:20 Go-to foods for pre-game fueling (Both day before and day of game)

10:30 Go-to fueling tips during athletic competition (Intra-fueling)

13:30 Go-to Recovery foods and tips

15:45 Most important adjustments to make when transitioning from high school to college

17:30 What makes soccer players unique from a fueling standpoint?

19:00 RAPID FIRE QUESTIONS

24:15 The ONE Nutrition Tip Courtney would tell EVERY athlete to start TODAY!

Before you jump in - a reminder to please follow, subscribe and give us a positive review on the platform of your choice.  Help us grow the Whiskers Nation.  We are grateful for your support – Thank you!

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Today, we explore the fine art of creating and scoring goals with 3 tremendous attacking players who have all had an impact at the college level. And they all bring something different to the table.  So join us for a fun discussion about the most exciting and entertaining part of the Beautiful Game. 

We have Senior Megan Norkett from Naperville, Illinois, who is a demon dribbler and creates danger with her magical left foot.  Junior Alex Fallon from Atlanta, Georgia, who is a triple threat with her dribbling, passing and shooting from the midfield.  And Junior Kennedy Roesch, from San Diego, California, a traditional number 9 that possesses a lethal shot with either foot.  We are excited to discuss some attacking soccer. 

Join Host Ava Goodin and Coach Rich Manning as we explore some attacking secrets.  You will find out:

• Attacking players they model their games after
• What they want opponents to feel when playing against them
• Skills they've developed that were the hardest to learn
• Their favorite training methods and drills
• Attacking chemistry between teammates
• Mindset secrets
• Their advice for young attacking players

Before we jump in - a reminder to please follow, subscribe and give us a positive review on the platform of your choice.  Help us grow the Whiskers Nation.  We are grateful for your support – Thank you!

Megan Norkett's Player Profile

VIDEO:  Check out Megan's Favorite Goal (vs. USC in the BIG10 Tournament)

Alex Fallon's Player Profile

VIDEO: Check out Alex's Huge Goal (vs. Iowa)

(We don't have video of Alex's favorite goal, but this was a GOOD ONE!)

Kennedy Roesch's Player Profile

VIDEO:  Check out Kennedy's Favorite Goal (vs. TCU)

Ava Goodin's Player Profile

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Web Site - NU Sports Women's Soccer

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Hi everyone!

Whiskers is back!  After a short pause for Winter Final Exams and Spring Break, we are locked in and ready to fill your cup with wisdom, fun and ear candy from the 'Cats!

Recruiting is the topic of the day.  And you will hear two perspectives. 

Sophomore Ava Goodin shares her recruiting story - how she went about finding the right place for her and why it ended up being Northwestern.

Then Ava turns the interview around and asks Coach Rich Manning what college coaches are looking for and how recruits can best make themselves known to school they are interested in.

So download and tune in.  If you are a youth soccer player looking to go to college, you will learn some valuable insights.  If you are just a fan of college soccer, you will love hearing how we find the next group of 'Cats to root for.

TIMELINE

0:30 - Ava's Recruiting Story 

- Her mindset

-Her advisors

 Why Northwestern?

4:30 - Ava's recruiting process

 - Her timeline

- how making videos helped her process

- how she picked schools she was interested in

- when she found time to work on communication

-ID Clinics

-Enjoying and managing her emotions through the process

-The highlights of her recruiting process

12:45 - Ava's "Book" on How to Get Recruited to a Great School and Program!!

- CH 1: Self-Scout

- CH 2: People over Programs

- CH 3: Reality Check

- CH 4: Your Digital Highlight Reel

- CH 5: From Clinic to Commitment

BONUS:  Ava's Special Tip for ID Clinics (It is a good one!)

26:00 - Rich Gives a Coach's View on What He is Looking for

- What Rich is looking for

- What you should know as you start the recruiting process

-How to communicate with college coaches

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We want you to meet Stef Zavala.  She is our Athletic Trainer, one of the most critical people within our team.  

Her job encompasses so much.  Yes, she tapes ankles and prepares ice and drinks for training. But she also develops programs that both keep us healthy and get us back from injury and illness. She manages our players' return to play.  She coordinates appointments and treatment with doctors and with our High Performance Team (coaches, strength coach, sports psychologists, sports dietitians.  And she is basically available day or night when we need something.

Listen up and learn more about a trainer's life.  And, more importantly, how a soccer player can maximize her potential by following some simple advice.

1:50 Stef's Trainer Origin Story and Role Models

4:30 A Typical Training Day

6:00 A Typical Game Day

7:20 Coming to Northwestern

8:30 The 2 Important Things Athletes Don't Know about a trainer's craft

11:00 One new and exciting innovation in her world

13:20 Building Trust with Athletes

16:15 RAPID FIRE with Stef

(Including why Northwestern Soccer is special to her, her secret talent, her favorite morning beverage, her favorite Chicago restaurant, unusual injuries and MORE)

22:00 Stef's advice for aspiring athletic trainers

22:45 ONE THING athletes can do to stay healthy and ready to perform

Episode Intro by Quinn Erim

Whiskers Theme by Gabriel Moynihan

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Meet our Dynamic Duo of GK's.

Junior CJ Roy is an East Coast native, coming from Washington D.C.

First-year Nyamma Nelson is from the West Coast, growing up on Portland, Oregon

They have forged a great relationship while helping the 'Cats build an excellent defense.  We had a great discussion about all things Goalkeeping, their relationship and being a part of a high-level Division 1 soccer program.  This is a good one and an emotional roller coaster!

0:45 - Their Goalkeeping Origins (hint:  mom's played a big role)

6:00 - Goalkeeper Role Models

7:45 - The biggest challenges of the position

9:00 - Finding the right mindset

15:00 - Supporting each other while competing for the position

17:45 - What they have learned from each other

19:30 - What they admire about each other! (Hint: Some hugs and tears here)

23:00 RAPID FIRE Time

We include favorite music, superstitions, PK strategy, favorite save, personal mascots, treats and more!

30:00 The advice they would give to younger GK's

"The way we frame it is...competing to help the team be better..."  CJ Roy

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You may know Emma Phillips - Northwestern legend, all-Big10 Defender, scorer of incredible set-piece goals and so much more.  Well, after graduating in December of 2025, she spent the past year starting to realize her dream of playing PRO SOCCER.  She spent the season playing at Grindavik in Iceland and then had a training stint with AFC Toronto in Canada's Northern Super League.  

We caught up with Emma as she prepares for season 2.

She will take you behind the curtain.  You'll hear about her pro soccer dreams, her experiences abroad, how Northwestern soccer prepared her and things she will do differently after her 1st-year experience.

If you want to know what it's like to make it as a pro soccer player, then this episode if JUST FOR YOU!

1:00 - What her first year was like...

3:00 - Emma outlines her Pro Soccer dream 

3:30 - The beauty (and wind) of ICELAND

6:00 - The 1st steps to becoming a pro

10:00 - The difference between college and pro soccer

11:30 - Finding her voice - What was challenging and how she will attack it

14:00 - How Northwestern prepared her

16:00 - Preparing for Canada

18:00 - RAPID FIRE QUESTIONS - Find out more about Emma

25:00 - Emma's guaranteed, fool-proof secret for a college player to make it in the pros

Watch Emma's Legendary Bicycle Kick goal at Kansas State

See Emma's Northwestern Profile Page

SHOUTOUTS:  Kayla Sharples, Hannah Davison, Gwen Zimmerman, Annette Corbin and so much more!

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Web Site - NU Sports Women's Soccer