EAST PEORIA, Ill. — With a blend of returning leadership and a large group of newcomers, the Illinois Central College women's soccer team is ready to turn the page and make its mark during the 2026 season.

Head coach Javi Valle enters his sixth season at the helm of the Cougar program and will look to guide ICC back to their winning ways. Valle has helped elevate the program during his tenure, highlighted by ICC's first Region 24 championship in 2022.

The Cougars are coming off a challenging 2025 campaign that finished 3-9-1. Despite the record, ICC continued to battle throughout the season and showed its potential down the stretch, finishing the year with a narrow 1-0 overtime loss to No. 10 Indian Hills in the District Tournament.

With a healthier roster and an influx of new talent, the Cougars are optimistic that 2026 will bring better results.

Leading the way will be sophomore captains Gracie VanQuakebeke and Tori Morin, two players who gained valuable experience as freshmen last fall. VanQuakebeke, a goalkeeper from Washington High School, will anchor the Cougars defensively, while Morin, a forward from Canada, will be counted on to provide leadership to the ICC attack.

The roster will have a lot of new faces looking to contribute.

"We have a lot of incoming players who have impressed these first two weeks of preseason," Valle said. "Freshmen Noirin Cummins, Sol Moyano, and Theresa Hechler have looked really good & will give us a lot of balance in the back while transfer sophomore Ximena Palacios has impressed in the front."

ICC will feature a 19-player roster, including 11 freshmen, giving Valle a young group that will need to develop quickly as the season progresses. The combination of returning sophomores and a talented freshman class gives the Cougars an opportunity to establish a new identity while building depth throughout the lineup.

That growth will be tested immediately. The Cougars open the 2026 season with a trip to Iowa, where they will face perennial powers Iowa Western tomorrow (Thursday, August 20) and Indian Hills on Saturday, August 22. The challenging opening weekend should give ICC an early indication of where it stands and provide valuable experience as the Cougars prepare for Region 24 competition.

The ultimate goal is to have the team playing its best soccer when postseason play arrives. With the upgraded roster, the Cougars enter with renewed optimism and are eager to see what the new season brings.