By Shy’Ana Thomas
Today is the first day of class at Grand Rapids Community College but the women’s soccer team has been training for weeks with two pre- season wins and a first regular season draw under their belts. They’re starting strong going into their second season ever, after GRCC added the sport in 2023.
They ended their first season with a record of 8-0-12 and averaged 45-67 goals against their opponents which is a 22 goal difference.
The roster features 13 returning players. The comeback of these players can guide the new incoming starters, like Rylie Bjorkman who started off as a forward from Sparta, MI now plays the role of Assistant Coach. Samantha Hunting who carried the title of most assistant of 10 on the team. With 1,298 minutes played as a midfielder makes a return. So does Allyson Seevers, who played 961 minutes and had six goals as a forward also returned to the team. With contributions, this can put the team on a better run than last season.
On top of the returning players they also have new signings of fresh high school graduates and all-star players from local clubs and colleges around Michigan, making a total of 13 new players. The team also signed international player, Eevi Eskola, a midfielder who transferred to Northview High School in 2022 from Veikkola, Finland. Eskola went back to Finland and graduated from Kuninkaantien Lukio. Now she is back in Grand Rapids and committed to the Raiders. These signings have been seen as successful to the team. With many positions on the field being covered, which can give a great look to the team.
Here’s a look at GRCC’s 2024 roster:
- Taylor Bent, a midfielder from Cheboygan High School
- Cameran Roelofs, forward transfer student from The University of Olivet
- Janett Jimenez, forward from Comstock High School
- Isabella Edwards-Parker, goalkeeper from Holland High School
- Keaton Morris, defender from Rockford High School
- Ava Simonson, forward transfer student from Aquinas College
- Emily Krampitz, midfielder transfer from West Michigan Aviation Academy
- Oliva Dykstra, right back from Greenville High School
- Jenna Verdun, defender from Zion Christian High School
- Marriah New, midfielder from Muskegon Oakridge High School
- Sophia Harrison, Defensive Center midfielder transferred from Hornets Soccer Club.
The first day of practice was on Aug. 1, followed by media day on Aug. 13. Media day photos for the team were posted on the GRCC Athletics Flickr account.
Coach Jason Hill returned for his second season with GRCC and could not be reached for a comment.
The women’s team had their kickoff games on Aug. 11 against Oakton Community College at Midwest United soccer complex. The second game was against Hornets Soccer Club on Aug. 14 at MacKay-Jaycees Park with both matches resulting in a win. The final scores were 1-0 and 4-0 with a superb hat trick from GRCC Sophomore Ava Simonson in the first half of the last game. The Raiders tied their first game of the season against Cleary University on Aug. 23 in Howell, Michigan.
For more information and to view the game schedule, go to Grccraiders.com.
