Women's Soccer Season Preview

By Jim Fenton

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University women's soccer team experienced the NCAA Division 3 tournament for the first time since 2013 last fall.

The Bears went 12-5-3, winning the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference regular-season and postseason championships, and lost to nationally ranked The College of New Jersey in the NCAAs.

With nearly 20 players returning for the 2025 season, BSU is aiming to get another shot at playing in the national tourney in November.

"They're super hungry," said coach Yasmina Carvalho, who is two wins shy of 100 in her BSU career. "We built this program over the past three years.

"They were excited to win as juniors and were amped up. Now they want to go out with a bang, like last year's seniors did."

BSU begins the season Friday night by playing in Waltham, Mass., against Brandeis University at 7 p.m. The home opener is Sept. 3 against Johnson & Wales at Mazzaferro Field.

The Bears are picked to finish first in the MASCAC preseason poll with six of nine first-place votes with Westfield State second.

BSU graduated several starters, including Sydney Dewhurst. She was the conference's Defensive Player of the Year and made the All-MASCAC first team, finishing with 11 goals and 10 assists for 32 points to finish in the top three in all categories.

The Bears return three first-team Al-MASCAC selections, including senior forward Olivia Robarge (Pepperell, Mass.), senior goalkeeper Logan Levesque (Bristol, R.I.) and senior midfielder and captain Jenna Sweeney (Wilmington, Mass.).

Robarge was second in the MASCAC with 14 goals and fourth with 32 points. She enters the '25 season with 50 points, 14th on the school's all-time list.

Robarge led the conference with five game-winning goals and made the United Soccer Coaches All-Region Two Team.

Levesque started 17 games and had a 1.44 goals against average with 97 saves and a 10-4-3 record.

She has 30 career wins, trailing only BSU Hall of Famer Tracey Ullathorne, who won 38 games for the Bears.

"She knows we have some big expectations for her, and she has her own personal goals," said Carvalho. "She knows what the competition is going to be like as a three-year starter.

"It's a huge positive having her there. It really settles everyone's nerves, especially the backline where we only have one returner on defense. Having Logan being that extra cushion of support is huge for the newcomers."

Sweeney also made the all-conference second team as a sophomore.

Sophomore Hope Montgomery (Abington, Mass.) started 18 of 19 games in her first collegiate season and was a key to the BSU defense.

"Every game, she got better," said Carvalho. "You could see her growth, not only mentally but physically where she could hold off those big-time players on big-time teams.

"She's only gotten stronger in the offseason and it's really paid off. We're excited to see the type of damage she does this year."

Joining Montgomery on defense will be seniors Lauren Sellmayer (Easton, Mass.) and Ariana Snelgrove (East Bridgewater, Mass.).

Sellmayer, a captain, suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament injury in the 2023 season and returned to play 10 games with four starts a year ago.

"She was still getting comfortable and confident with her knee," said Carvalho. "She's in a better state trusting her knee now."

Snelgrove started four of the 15 games she appeared in and is moving from center midfield to center back.

"She's very talented and smart enough to play center back," said Carvalho. "With (senior) Erin Richards (Plymouth, Mass.), I'm confident in our back line and what they can do for us."

The Bears lost midfielder Makenna Lessard, a second-team all-conference player, to graduation.

Sweeney will be joined at midfield by senior captain Abigail Shea (Somerset, Mass.) and junior Caroline McCormack (East Bridgewater, Mass.), who is moving from forward.

The forwards with Robarge will be junior Natalie Mattos (Fairhaven, Mass.), who had three goals, and sophomore Emily Lehane (Braintree, Mass.).

BSU edged Westfield State, 3-2, in the conference final to reach the NCAAs where it was paired with the 10th-ranked College of New Jersey.

The Bears allowed a goal in each half and lost to a team that advanced to the third round.

"Doing that helps a lot," said Carvalho. "It proves to not only our progarm and the MASCAC that we can compete in the NCAAs.

"We played the No. 10 team in the country and only lost, 2-0, on restarts. This team really wants another shot at the NCAAs and the goal is to make it to the second or third round."