CARMEL, Ind. – The Rose-Hulman women's soccer team has been selected to repeat as conference champions in the HCAC Preseason Poll.
 
The Fightin' Engineers recorded 78 points as a team, while accumulating six first place votes. The team is coming off an 11-7-2 season, where they recorded a mark of 9-1-1 against HCAC opponents. Rose-Hulman concluded the season as the #2-seed, where they would go on to defeat Transylvania and Hanover, to claim the 2025 HCAC Tournament title.
 
Reigning HCAC Tournament Runners-Up, Hanover finished second in the poll, securing 71 points with one first place vote. Reigning HCAC Regular Season Champions, Mt. St. Joseph finished third in the poll as the team recorded 68 points and three first place votes.
 
Head Coach Amy Helliwell returns for her 18th season with Rose-Hulman, and she is coming off her third HCAC Tournament title. She returns six starters from last year, and four all-conference honorees in All-HCAC First Team selection, senior Ally Smith, and All-HCAC Second Team selections, senior Riley Heasley and sophomores Sydnee Schuler and Iliana Hernandez.
 
Smith started all 20 games during the 2025 season, where she led all field players with 1,679 minutes. She recorded three assists on the year, highlighted by a two-assist performance against Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. Smith would also play a key role in Rose-Hulman's defense, leading the HCAC with an average of 0.71 goals allowed per game.
 
Heasley also started in all 20 games, where she racked up a total of 1,290 minutes. She recorded two assists on the year, which came in victories against Berea and Anderson.
 
Schuler made 16 starts across her 19 appearances, for a total of 1,236 minutes. Schuler recorded a team-high 19 points, scoring six goals while finishing second in the HCAC with seven assists. She recorded both a goal and an assist against Webster, before kicking off the HCAC season with assists in three consecutive games against Berea, Hanover, and Franklin. She closed out the regular season by recording goals in three straight games to help Rose-Hulman clinch a bye in the opening round of the HCAC Tournament. Her hot streak would continue as she led Rose-Hulman to a 3-1 victory in the HCAC Semifinals over Transylvania, scoring two goals while dishing out one assist.
 
Hernandez appeared in 16 games, where she made five starts across 746 minutes of action. She finished third on the team with 12 points, scoring five goals while dishing out two assists. Hernandez scored two goals in the season opener against Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, and she added back-to-back goals against Hanover and Franklin. She continued to thrive during the HCAC Tournament, as she assisted on Schuler's first goal in the team's HCAC Semifinal victory over Transylvania.
 
Rose-Hulman opens the year on the road for their in-city rivalry against Saint Mary-of-the-Woods on Tuesday, September 1 at 5 PM. They will face reigning back-to-back national champions #1 WashU in their home opener on Thursday, September 10 at 7 PM.
 
HCAC PRESEASON POLL RESULTS:

1. Rose-Hulman – 78 (6)
2. Hanover – 71 (1)
3. Mt. St. Joseph – 68 (3)
4. Transylvania – 59
5. Anderson – 49
6. Earlham – 38
7. Bluffton – 27
8. Franklin – 27
9. Berea – 19
10. Manchester – 14