The Australian goalkeeping cohort in NCAA Division I this season is stacked with players set to make major impacts for their respective programs. Maine’s Grace Wilson was named preseason All-Conference in the America East, whilst Chantelle Symes is hot favourite to start for Detroit Mercy. Meanwhile, transfers Aimee Benton, Georgia Martell, Lilly Bailey, and Libby Davy will look to influence their new programs from the outset, whilst former Sydney FC goalkeeper Jasmine Black is one of the freshmen to watch in any position as she commences her career at George Washington.
Lilly Bailey (Sophomore, Hofstra, Perth)
A star of the Morehead State side that reached the Ohio Valley Conference championship game to secure an NCAA Tournament berth, Lilly Bailey is set to test herself at a higher level after transferring to Hofstra for 2025. Bailey featured on 18 occasions in 2024, starting 17 of those appearances to fully entrench herself as an integral member of the Eagles’ roster. The Western Australian’s save percentage of .792 was good enough for third in the conference, as were her four clean sheets.
Hofstra rolled to a 17-win campaign and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2021, and whilst the Pride have been solid since then, they certainly haven’t reached those same lofty heights. Losses to Monmouth in the CAA tournament in each of the last two seasons have scuppered their national stage ambitions, and an 8-5-6 record is below what we have come to expect from the Long Island-based outfit. However, with leading scorers Millie Davies and Mathilde Braithwaite (the sister of former Barcelona and Danish national team player Martin) each returning, there is plenty of firepower on the roster. Meanwhile, both goalkeepers that saw minutes in 2024 have now left the program, meaning Bailey will be in a fierce positional battle with last season’s backup, Rhode Island transfer Carly Travers.
Shivani Battaglia (Senior, Fresno State, Perth)
Having completed an impressive junior college career before spending a year at Central Michigan, Shivani Battaglia’s transfer to Fresno State last season was a masterstroke, with the Western Australian making fourteen appearances for the Bulldogs. Battaglia made nine starts, splitting the role with fellow returner Ashton Conley, with the duo looking set to comprise a formidable tandem between the sticks. Battaglia’s 1.13 goals against average was good enough for third in the Mountain West Conference, whilst her .787 save percentage placed her top five in the league.
2025 will be the Bulldogs’ final campaign in the Mountain West before leaving for the resurrected Pac-12 in 2026 as several of the MWC’s strongest programs join the orphaned Oregon State and Washington State outfits in the new-look conference. The Bulldogs will be hoping for significant improvement in 2025 after finishing 10th in the 12-team league in 2024, but considering their 1-win nadir in 2022, they certainly do appear to be on an upward trajectory. Six of their nine losses last season came by just a single goal in 2024 as the Bulldogs finished with a 7-9-3 record overall, so even a small improvement at both ends could be enough to flip a few results in their favour in 2025.
Aimee Benton (Junior, Youngstown State, Adelaide)
Aimee Benton was more-or-less forced into transferring for a second time after Saint Francis made the decision to drop to NCAA Division III, with the South Australian making the short move from Pennsylvania across the state line to Youngstown State in Ohio. Benton started her career at Grambling State in 2023, playing 16 games before transferring to Saint Francis and making two appearances in 2024. Benton will be one of two new goalkeepers on the roster in 2025; however, incumbent starter Maya Naimoli will return so that positional battle will be one to keep an eye on early in the season.
Last year’s 5-11-2 record was slightly down on the seven and nine wins that the Penguins posted in 2023 and 2022 respectively, but still a vast improvement on the six seasons prior to that, a stretch in which a four-win campaign in 2019 was the pinnacle. Importantly, this is also new head coach Rich Wall’s first season following Brian Shrum’s decision to retire after seven seasons at the helm. Wall helped navigate Mercyhurst’s transition to NCAA Division I, posting a 16-4-1 record in the Lakers’ final season in NCAA Division II in 2023.
Jasmine Black (Freshman, George Washington, Sydney)
Sydney FC’s starting goalkeeper for the final five games of the most recent A-League season, Jasmine Black is one of the most credentialed of this season’s Australian freshmen in NCAA Division I, with Young Matildas call-ups also under her belt. Indeed, Black is set to miss the early part of the season on national team duty as she heads to Tajikistan for Under 20 Asian Cup qualifiers in August. However, the fact that Black is even in that squad can only be a long-term positive for both herself and the Revolutionaries program.
George Washington compiled six straight double-digit win seasons between 2014 and 2019, but the post-COVID years have not been as kind to the program. 2023 and 2024 saw the team finish with identical 4-11-3 records as the program navigated their first season under new head coach Jeremy Williams last season. However, Williams was part of the team’s staff from 2015 to 2017, a stint that included 2015’s undefeated Atlantic 10 regular season championship campaign. If the Revolutionaries are to return to that level, Black could be a massive part of that change. The team finished in the bottom 50 in the nation for save percentage, shutout percentage, and goals against average. Whilst their attacking stats don’t make for great reading either, shoring up the defensive end certainly appears to be a higher priority at this stage.
Libby Davy (Junior, George Mason, Adelaide)
Libby Davy spent the first two seasons of her college career with Pacific, but has made the cross-country move to Virginia, joining George Mason for her junior season. The South Australian made 13 starts in 2023, but her sophomore season ended in early September following a concussion suffered against Weber State. That was Davy’s sixth and final appearance of the season, but the former Junior Matildas training camp squad member has a chance to make a fresh start in Fairfax.
2025 is the 40th anniversary of George Mason’s 1985 national championship, the school’s only national title in any women’s sport, but recent seasons have been far from those lofty heights. The Patriots have passed three wins only once since 2019, a six-win campaign in 2022, although last season’s 3-10-6 record in head coach Aaron Brunner’s first season was an improvement on 2023’s 3-15-0 mark. A national championship-winning assistant at Florida State, rebuilding the George Mason program will present different challenges for Brunner, but by all accounts, he has the tools to be successful.
On the goalkeeping front, returner Selamawit Caldart started nine games in 2024, but Victoria Coninck has taken her ten starts from last season to Wake Forest in 2025. Therefore, there are certainly opportunities for Davy if she can make an impression in preseason.
Georgia Martell (Grad, Cal State Bakersfield, Brisbane)
A legend of the Cumberlands program at NAIA level, Georgia Martell makes the leap to NCAA Division I level for her graduate season, joining Cal State Bakersfield. The QAS product finished 2024 as an NAIA Second-Team All-American and MSC First-Team All-Conference, and her name is scattered throughout the Cumberlands’ record book. However, Martell’s crowning glory was in helping lead Cumberlands to the 2023 NAIA National Championship, making 18 saves against William Carey in the championship game before the Patriots secured the title in a penalty shootout.
Former head coach Bernardo Silva improved the Roadrunners from 3 wins in 2023 to an 8-10-5 record in 2024, but he has since departed for Cal Poly. Former USC player and Boston College assistant Whitney Pitalo has taken over as coach for the 2025 season, fresh off helping the Eagles to a 12-win season. Goalkeepers Kamy Anaya and Hollee Hercik split duties last year, but Hercik has since graduated, leaving an opportunity if Martell is able to establish herself as part of the rotation. However, the Roadrunners will need to make at least small improvements at both ends of the pitch if they are to move into double-digit wins and challenge for silverware in 2025. Fortunately, two of the team’s three leading scorers from 2024 return this year to keep the attack ticking over.
Chantelle Symes (Senior, Detroit Mercy, Sydney)
A former star for Southern Illinois, Chantelle Symes split time with Marisa Silver at Detroit in 2024. However, with Silver now having graduated, the Sutherland Strikers goalkeeper now has the inside running for a full-time starting berth between the sticks in 2025. Symes’ best season to this point was in 2023, during which the Sydneysider made 13 starts for the Salukis, finishing with a save percentage of .734. Having served her time as something of a backup to Silver after making only five appearances in 2024, Symes now gets the chance to make the Titans’ starting spot her own.
The Titans have defensive reinforcements returning in 2025, with Ashley Bates’ return from injury perhaps the most notable, and this will hopefully help stand Symes in good stead. The Detroit Mercy goalkeepers perhaps faced more shots than coach Steve Shelton would have wanted last season, which meant that a scoring offense ranked 65th in the nation led to only a 10-8-2 record and a conference tournament semi-final loss. The Titans will have to replace the 15 goals scored by Joyelle Washington and Erica Toupin last season, but Abbey Lodato and her eight goals from 2024 return, and there will be increased opportunities for a number of other players. Symes outlined a conference title as a goal for this season, and the Titans certainly have the tools to be there or thereabouts when the whips are cracking come late October and into November.
Chloe Tseros (Freshman, Canisius, Sydney)
A Northbridge FC junior, Chloe Tseros has played for several NPL New South Wales clubs on Sydney’s north side, but spent 2025 with Sydney Olympic in preparation for her move to Canisius, where she will immediately battle for the starting spot. A starter in 17 games at NPL Under 23 level in 2025, Tseros also appeared in 11 first grade games before heading to Buffalo. Tseros has also tasted success at state league level on the futsal court, securing the 2022 Futsal Premier League title with UTS Northside after receiving a call-up to the first team squad for finals after spending the entire regular season exclusively in the Under 17 team. Interestingly enough, that team also featured another player making a move to college this year in East Carolina freshman Jenny Hill.
Tseros joins a Canisius team that finished 12-4-3 in 2024 as their season was ended by Quinnipiac in the MAAC Tournament semi-finals. However, that team was led by a trio of seniors who combined for 23 goals, who will need to be replaced. More importantly for Tseros, goalkeeping duties in 2024 were performed exclusively by senior Jordan Spencer, making the battle for the starting spot wide open in 2025. Tseros will be one of two freshmen on the roster alongside sophomore Ally Smith, who served as backup last year but has yet to feature in a collegiate game. The Golden Griffins finished 22nd in the nation for goals against average in 2024, and with an attack that also placed top 50 nationally for goals per game now stripped of the majority of its output, maintaining that elite defence could prove even more crucial in 2025.
Grace Wilson (Sophomore, Maine, Adelaide)
Grace Wilson was forced to step up for Maine in difficult circumstances last season after regular starter Jessica Kasacek was called away from the team for personal reasons, but came up with a massive performance in the America East Championship game to help lead the Black Bears to a second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. Having made just one appearance in the regular season, Wilson was forced into just one save in the semi-final win against UMass-Lowell, but came up with five more in the 3-0 championship game win over New Hampshire. Although the Black Bears fell to a 3-1 defeat to Wisconsin in their NCAA Tournament opener, Wilson came up with another nine saves, including a penalty save to keep their team’s slim hopes alive and demonstrate that the Black Bears have a goalkeeper for the present and future.
The list of Black Bears to finish their college careers following the 2024 reads like a who’s who of program legends, including both Abby and Kayla Kraemer, Kristina Kelly, Myla Schneider, and Wilson’s fellow South Australian, Lara Kirkby. Mercifully, second-leading scorer from 2024, Jordanne Pinette returns following a six-goal campaign, but the aforementioned list of players combined for 20 goals in 2024, whilst defender Schneider picked up the conference tournament Most Outstanding Player award last season. Having improved from three wins in 2021 to consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances in 2023 and 2024, replacing these stalwarts will be pivotal in ensuring the upward trajectory continues.
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