The expectations for the Kansas soccer program have shifted dramatically in just two years since Nate Lie took over as head coach.
“We came in and our goals and dreams were to make the NCAA Tournament,” junior midfielder Jillian Gregorski said. “I think our standard now is the tournament and winning first round.”
Gregorski and her fellow captains Caroline Castans, a senior wing back, and Sophie Dawe, a senior goalkeeper, are among the players who helped lead KU to a Big 12 tournament title in 2024 and a Sweet 16 in 2025 and are now charged with upholding that standard.
The quest for more begins on Wednesday night at Rock Chalk Park, when the Jayhawks will host Utah State at 7 p.m. in their season opener.
“I think it’s just trying to reflect on what we did but also not be satisfied with that, and always strive for more, and know that we’re a team now that we were ranked 15th,” Castans said, referencing the United Soccer Coaches poll. “So I think that we’re now a team that people are looking at. And we kind of have just like more motivation to keep striving to reach higher goals.”
For Lie, it was “easier and more fun” to enter with no expectations as an underdog in 2024, inheriting a team that had gone 4-8-6 (1-7-2 Big 12).
“This year, it’s a little bit tougher,” he acknowledged. “We appreciate some of the respect that we’ve been given. I think it’s earned. I think part of trying to shift into this next phase of our program is not being afraid of saying we’re a pretty good team, holding our shoulders high and back and going on the field expecting to win, but also understanding what it’s going to take to get there. It’s a different set of responsibilities.”
Beyond the trio of captains, KU has a variety of other veterans who can help build on what Lie’s bunch has already accomplished: forward Jocelyn Herrema, midfielder Kate Langfelder, wing back Livvy Moore, central backs Jordan Fjelstad and Emily Tobin, and that’s not even mentioning a variety of underclassmen who contributed extensively as true freshmen last year.
But there is still a lot of uncertainty entering the 2026 season. Herrema and sophomore Jordan Rowan seem poised to be prominent pieces at forward, but then sophomore Faith Johnston and transfers Sydni Fink (Kentucky), Norah Jacomen (Butler) and Hannah Palmer (Kansas State) will all have something to say about how that position shakes out.
“I think it’s been really cool to just be someone they could go to, to ask questions,” Gregorski said. “I think I’m in a really unique position as far as I’m a midfielder but I kind of play as like a drop forward sometimes. And so just being able to be like, ‘Hey if you go, I’m coming with you, I trust you.’ They’re working so hard, all of them. They’re really going on the details. They start our press, and they know that’s a huge responsibility.”
At center back, which was thought to be one of the strengths of the team, KU has not been healthy at all in the lead-up to its season opener.
“The situation is still pretty fluid,” Lie said. “We are hoping to get closer to full strength sooner than later. Things are largely trending in the right direction. I think I’ve said this: We have five players not participating on a daily basis and four of them are center backs, so that’s not completely ideal. I think some are coming back. The young players have been thrown squarely in the fire.”
During KU’s home exhibition against Iowa, the Jayhawks deployed four center backs, all of whom were seeing their first-ever action as Jayhawks (three freshmen and a transfer). But according to Lie, they acquitted themselves well against a potentially tricky opponent with an “intricate sort of system.”
Now everyone feels ready to play a match that counts: “There’s not much you can do with exhibition, 11s, that can really recreate what a real game feels like,” Dawe said.
“I think one real game with the KU fans behind us, under the lights at Rock Chalk Park, I think that’s just going to give this team what they need and give us the motivation, the excitement, the (hunger) that we need to make it to the NCAA Tournament, and far,” Gregorski added.
The Jayhawks have had plenty of time to prepare this summer with extended preseason training, and they may have needed it, because Utah State presents a challenge.
Lie has spoken in the past about how USU’s mid-block style frustrated KU in a 0-0 draw last year in Logan, Utah. The Aggies ended up making the postseason last year and losing in penalties to Big 12 tournament champion BYU.
USU is now in the revamped Pac-12. On the back line, the Aggies retain all-region sophomore defender Summer Sofonia; junior Kaeda Wilson, last year’s leader in minutes played; and sophomore Capriel Winder, among others. In fact, they only lost three starters from the team that drew KU in Logan last year. They did not bring back the two forwards who led the team in goals and assists, but added several transfers, including a familiar name in midfielder Mia Lopez from BYU.
