Annabel Edwards Tallies Three Assists in Opening Night Win over Kalamazoo
The third-ranked University of Chicago women's soccer team claimed a 4-1 victory over Kalamazoo to open the 2026 campaign on Tuesday night.
The Hornets shocked the entire stadium in the opening minutes of the season as Kalamazoo found the back of the net on a scramble following a corner kick opportunity, and Kalamazoo took a 1-0 lead on the Maroons just 151 seconds into the contest.
After the early stumble, the Maroons answered back with a flurry of action over the next 15 minutes. In the 6th minute, Indira Naylor opened her scoring tally with a goal on a beautiful ball played to the near post on a corner kick by Annabel Edwards, leveling the score at one. Under ten minutes later, Hadley Hagwell had her name in lights as the sophomore scored her first career goal on another corner kick delivery from Edwards.
UChicago tacked on their third goal of the opening 20 minutes when Naylor sliced through the Kalamazoo defense, making her way to the end line, before squaring a ball back across the box to the waiting foot of Kamiryn Braxton Grimes, who tapped it for the 3-1 advantage.
In the second half, the Maroons tacked on their final tally in the 56th minute as Edwards dribbled through three Kalamazoo defenders before slipping a ball through to Lucy Harrison-Caldwell for the fourth goal of the game and the third assist of the contest for Edwards.
Despite the early slip-up, the UChicago defense was excellent all game long, holding Kalamazoo to just three total shots in the contest. Amanda Kayari made her first collegiate start in goal for the Maroons, making two saves on her three chances.
With the win, the Maroons improve to 1-0 overall on the season. UChicago returns to its home pitch on Friday afternoon as the Maroons welcome Macalester for the first meeting between the two sides since 2004.