Tarleton State is stacked with Aussie forwards in 2025, but Stephensville is not the only place to look for goal threats this year. Captain Izzy Stein returns for Long Island, whilst a number of players yet to make their collegiate debut are no doubt eager to find the back of net early and often.
Ava Blizzard (Sophomore, Loyola Maryland, Townsville)
Ava Blizzard may not have featured for Loyola Maryland during her freshman year, but the North Queensland product is ready to fire in Year 2 after spending the winter playing NPL Queensland for Gold Coast Knights. The sophomore played eight games in the offseason across Under 23 and first grade levels, notching three goals, and perhaps just the sight of seeing the ball hit the back of the net will be the best thing for Blizzard.
Loyola Maryland finished 8-6-5 in 2024, but their scoring numbers were second-best to their defence, finishing just outside the Top 150 nationally for goals per game whilst notching a Top 100 mark for goals against average. Improvements at both ends will be required, particularly in conference play after the Greyhounds finished 3-3-3 in the Patriot League. A conference tournament semi-final run followed, but semi-finals don’t deliver NCAA Tournament berths, something the Greyhounds haven’t secured since moving from the MAAC to the Patriot League in 2013. 2023 delivered an 11-win season, though, so the Greyhounds aren’t too far removed from more successful times.
Alyssa Di Campli (Freshman, Central Michigan, Queanbeyan)
Central Michigan head coach Jeremy Groves had significant success with Aussie players Harriet Withers and Nyomi Devine at Murray State, and will be hoping that his newest Australian signing, Alyssa Di Campli, can produce something similar for the Chippewas. Originally from Queanbeyan in New South Wales, Di Campli has been lethal in front of net for Belconnen United in NPL Capital Football, banging home 31 goals in 25 first grade appearances. Belconnen United finished second on the ladder and reached the grand final in 2024, whilst they sit undefeated and average more than six goals per game to this point in 2025.
If Di Campli can bring that same kind of goalscoring threat to Central Michigan, it will do her new team a world of good in 2025. The Chippewas averaged only 1.11 goals per game in 2024, sitting outside the top 200 nationally and finishing with a 5-8-5 record overall. In fairness, Central Michigan played a tough non-conference schedule, facing four power conference schools. However, the 3-4-4 conference record will rankle slightly, even as the overall record improved from the two wins they posted in both 2022 and 2023. Hopefully, the three-win improvement is a mere stepping stone to an even higher number in 2025 and beyond.
Phoebe Riley (Sophomore, Tarleton State, Sydney)
One of three first-year players to join Tarleton State in 2025, winger Phoebe Riley adds to the Texans’ attacking corps after spending her formative years with NWS Spirit and Northern Tigers before spending the 2025 NPL New South Wales season with Gladesville Ravens. Although Riley spent 2025 playing exclusively at Under 23 level for Ravens, she did make 11 first grade appearances for a Northern Tigers side that finished fifth in 2024, and scored 16 goals in 23 appearances at Under 23 level during that campaign.
Riley will now join fellow Australians Adelaide Wyrzynski and Charlie Shanahan in helping bolster the Tarleton State attack in 2025 as the Texans look to go to the next level after finishing 9-8-3 in 2024. Leading scorer Stevie Reynolds returns, but the Texans did their scoring by committee last season, meaning no one player being in or out of the squad is particularly back-breaking for the team’s attack. They also finished the season with three players, including Wyrzynski, tallying four assists apiece, further evidence that it was a real team effort in the front third of the pitch from Tarleton State. On the face of things, that appears to be a positive environment for a first-year player such as Riley to come into as she looks to earn playing time from the outset.
Charlie Shanahan (Freshman, Tarleton State, Sunshine Coast)
New South Wales has definitely been Pete Cuadrado’s location of choice for his Australian recruits, but the Tarleton State coach headed north of the Tweed to secure Sunshine Coast Wanderers youngster Charlie Shanahan. A Queensland junior representative, Shanahan already has collegiate experience under her belt after spending the spring season in Stephensville, during which the Texans picked up five wins in eight contests.
One of four Australians now on the Texans’ roster, Shanahan will be tasked with helping the attack go to the next level after a solid 2024 campaign. Tarleton State put up 1.45 goals per game in 2024, but that number was skewed slightly by an 8-0 win over NCAA Division III side Austin. If the team from Stephensville are to improve on last season’s 9-8-3 record, putting up a few more goals consistently will play a large part especially considering how many of their defeats were by a single goal last season.
Izzy Stein (Senior, Long Island, Sydney)
A captain for Long Island, Izzy Stein has come on in leaps and bounds over the course of her three seasons with the Sharks. The Manly United product started on just one occasion during her freshman year of 22, and played only 258 minutes across her 11 appearances. However, since that season, her numbers have progressed remarkably. Two goals and three assists in 15 appearances followed in 2023, before 2024 saw the skipper start all 16 games for Long Island, averaging 85 minutes per game in the process. Although her scoring output fell to a single goal and a single assist for the season, the increase in playing time is evidence that Stein’s impact on the Long Island team is not always felt exclusively on the scoresheet.
LIU enter the 2025 season under their guidance of their third coach in as many seasons as Jim O’Brien replaces Tom Giovatto, who took the job as Manhattan’s men’s soccer coach. O’Brien faces the task of improving a team that hasn’t posted a double-digit win season since the program’s merger with LIU Post in 2019. In particular, the Sharks will be looking to improved upon their defence after conceding almost two goals per game despite the best efforts of a goalkeeping corps led by Keely Thomas, who returns for 2025. The Sharks did finish conference play 4-5-1 in 2024 despite finishing 5-10-1 overall, but in a league that sends only four teams to its conference tournament, a couple more wins will be required in 2025 if the Sharks are to reach the conference postseason.
Stella Tosoni (Freshman, Quinnipiac, Brisbane)
The first Australian to play for Quinnipiac since former Canberra United defender Beck Kiting turned out for the Bobcats from 2010-13, Stella Tosoni has been in the US since January, giving her a leg-up in terms of familiarity with her surroundings heading into her first college season. Primarily a member of Brisbane City’s Under 23 side in NPL Queensland, Tosoni also broke through to make a handful of appearances for the first team in 2024, playing alongside former Butler University defender Claire Farrington and a number of other players with A-League Women’s experience.
Quinnipiac have been highly successful in recent seasons, winning their first two MAAC championships in 2022 and 2023 whilst also reaching the championship game in both 2021 and 2024. Last year’s 14-5-1 record was built primarily on their defence, finishing 18th in the nation for goals against average, conceding just 0.7 goals per game and keeping 12 clean sheets in 20 games. It would be nit-picking to assess the attack as a weak link considering the team’s record over the last few seasons, but if the Bobcats can lift their goalscoring numbers to match their defensive prowess, they could be all but unstoppable after finishing just outside the top 100 with a highly respectable 1.6 goals per game in 2024. However, they will need to replace the likes of recently graduated Courtney Chochol, who posted 7 goals and 7 assists last season. In saying that, from an Australian perspective, Tosoni could yet play a part in making up Chochol’s output in the aggregate.
Adelaide Wyrzynski (Sophomore, Tarleton State, Sydney)
An inspired addition to the Tarleton State roster in 2024, Adelaide Wyrzynski comes into 2025 not only as an integral member of the Texans’ roster, but also potentially as a mentor to the three Australian freshmen who will join the team this season. An All-WAC freshman team selection, Wyrzynski was one of just four players to feature in all 20 matches for Tarleton State in 2024, of which the Football NSW Institute product started ten. Four assists were enough for Wyrzynski to finish as one of three players to lead the team in that category, with the addition of two goals placing the Australian equal second for points on the Texans roster. Most recently, Wyrzynski received her first call-up to the Philippines national team for the upcoming ASEAN Women’s Championship, during which she will face former Santa Clara star Holly Furphy and the Australian Under 23 team in the group stage.
Wyrzynski helped Tarleton State reach the conference tournament for the first time in 2024, and repeating that achievement will be the minimum expectation in 2025 as the historic Western Athletic Conference plays out its final season before merging into the United Athletic Conference in 2026. Having finished 9-8-3 in their first season as a full NCAA Division I member, the future is certainly bright in Stephensville, and Wyrzynski is a large part of the reason.
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