Women's Soccer 8/19/2026 9:16:00 AM

Blinn aims to turn experience, depth into national tournament breakthrough

Following a 9-3-3 record in 2025, the Buccaneers hope to earn the program's first nationals berth this season

Women's Soccer 8/19/2026 9:16:00 AM

Blinn aims to turn experience, depth into national tournament breakthrough

Following a 9-3-3 record in 2025, the Buccaneers hope to earn the program's first nationals berth this season

The Blinn College women's soccer team enters the 2026 season with an experienced roster, increased competition at nearly every position, and a clear understanding of what it will take to reach the next level.

Head coach Alexandria Jackson enters her fifth season leading the Bucs and eighth season overall with the program. Since taking over in 2022, Jackson has guided Blinn to a 34-24-5 overall record, including a 9-3-3 mark in 2025 that earned the Bucs a second-place finish in the Region 14 South standings and a sixth consecutive appearance in the Region 14 Tournament.

Now, the Bucs are looking to take the next step.

Blinn has yet to earn a berth in the NJCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship tournament, a milestone the program has been pursuing since the men's and women's programs were launched in 2018. The Blinn men broke through in 2025 with the program's first national tournament appearance, and Jackson's squad hopes to follow suit.

"We want to repeat our success from 2025 and perform at the highest level," Jackson said, "but we also want to be better than we were last year, and reaching that national platform is a major part of that."

Blinn's 2025 season ended in the Region 14 Tournament against No. 14 Tyler Junior College. The Bucs hosted the Apaches in the opening round and played them to a 1-1 draw before falling 4-2 in a penalty-kick shootout.

The experience left Blinn hungry for more.

"Getting second place in the region and then the way our playoff run ended last season left us hungrier," sophomore midfielder Taylor Bull said. "The sophomores want to make the national tournament."
That experience is one of the Bucs' biggest assets heading into 2026.

Of Blinn's 25 players, 10 return for their second season with the program, while Jackson added three sophomore transfers in midfielders Lilly Arellano, Maria Barrientos, and Kaelynn Pablo.

"We have a large group of returners mixed with players who have experience and some talented freshmen," Jackson said. "In junior college, having veteran players is a big boost."

The returning group includes goalkeepers Haidlyn Hawkins and Reese Cauthen; midfielders Bull, Mikaela Juliano, Sophia Pacheco, Saya Shiratsuki and Chloey Mejia; defenders Dana Campos and Tristen Smith; and forward Khadeeja Rhoden.

Jackson also is joined this season by assistant coach Orlando Cervantes, who brings decades of coaching experience at various levels of competition. Cervantes has taken charge of the team's defensive structure, allowing Jackson to focus more heavily on the attacking side of the game.

"He's been fantastic," Jackson said. "The experience he brings is important for the program, and he's been a very promising addition."

While Blinn returns significant experience, the Bucs must replace their two leading scorers from a year ago in Marguerite Funk and Rebecca Madrid.

Rhoden, who scored four goals in 2025, is the team's top returning goal scorer. Jackson believes the Bucs have enough offensive talent to make up for the production lost to graduation and departure.

"Offensive power and goal scorers are emerging," Jackson said. "In this region, it's often about who can score the most goals."

The Bucs do return three of their top assist producers from 2025. Bull led the team with six assists, while Mejia and Juliano each recorded four.

"We have a lot of capable goal scorers and creativity in the midfield," Bull said.

Mejia said the team has spent the preseason emphasizing all three phases of its attack.

"The emphasis has been on defense, ball possession and attack," she said.

The challenge will be finding the combinations that allow those pieces to work together.

"For me, it's about managing and figuring out which players go where and when," Jackson said. "Making sure that talent is interconnected and that they're playing for their teammates."

The Bucs enter the season with competition throughout the roster.

Jackson said every player is battling for opportunities, creating a level of internal competition that she believes will make the team better.

"Anybody can start, and everybody can play," Jackson said. "It's going to come down to who can be the most consistent."

That competition begins in goal, where Hawkins and Cauthen are competing for the starting job.

Hawkins returns after a strong freshman season in which she went 5-3-3 with four shutouts. She recorded 78 saves on 86 shots for a 90% save percentage and allowed just eight goals in 12 matches.

Cauthen redshirted last season after transferring to Blinn from Point Park University.

"Reece and Haidlyn are competing in goal," Jackson said. "I'm excited that there is competition at every position because no one is going to be allowed to get complacent. You have to earn your spot and then continue to earn the right to keep it."

Bull said the Bucs are still working to establish a consistent combination along the back line after losing their entire starting defensive unit from last season, a unit that helped limit opponents to just 11 goals while producing six shutouts.

"It's an entirely new back line," Bull said. "We have a lot of talent. We have the pieces; now we're just trying to put them together."

That process will continue throughout preseason training and the early portion of the schedule.

"It's going to be a practice-by-practice process," Bull added.

The Bucs expect the same approach to apply throughout the roster.

"I want them to make my job hard and to make it hard for me to make a decision about playing time," Jackson said. "We're going to have to carry the season as a team. Rotations matter. We believe in the next-person-up mentality."

Blinn's road to the national tournament will once again run through Region 14, a league Jackson considers among the most competitive in the country.

"This is the hardest region you can play in," she stated. "We were the only region last season that sent three teams to the national tournament in both men's and women's soccer."

Jackson embraces that level of competition.

"We want that challenge," she asserted. "The games were so exciting for us last season because every match was a challenge."

The Bucs learned firsthand how little separates the teams in the region. Blinn tied two teams that eventually advanced to the national tournament, while its own season ended one step short of the national field.

"Every team in our region can be great," Jackson said. "We love a challenge, and we expect one."

Mejia got an early glimpse of the level of competition during a preseason match against Lamar University.

"Playing a team like Lamar, they were tougher," Mejia said. "It was a good challenge and a good eye-opener. It gave us a chance to see what we need to work on individually and as a team."

Hard work and growth will be critical as the Bucs navigate a schedule that begins with a neutral-site matchup against Butler Community College at 8 p.m. Thursday in Corsicana.

Blinn opens its home schedule against North American University at 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 22, at Hohlt Park in Brenham. The Bucs begin Region 14 South play at home against Northeast Texas Community College at 11 a.m. Friday, Sept. 4.

For Jackson, the goal is not simply to chase a championship. It is also to continue developing players and preparing them for opportunities beyond Blinn.

"The unique thing about JUCO soccer is that success is defined in many ways," Jackson said. "We want to win as many games as we can and get our players placed at four-year schools."

After coming within a shootout of a monumental playoff win in 2025, however, the Bucs have a larger goal in mind.

"I think since 2018, our program has worked hard to establish a spot on the map, but an appearance at nationals makes us a name to watch out for," Jackson said. "Getting to that level is a goal for us because it not only represents what we are now, but also what we can be in the future."

Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 53 national championships since 1987.

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