Bolivar, Mo. – The Southwest Baptist University (SBU) women's soccer team is set to take the field in 2026 for a new chapter of the program. The team begins the fall of 2026 with a new coach, new talent, and new ambitions to compete and succeed.
 
The aforementioned new coach is Debbie Pekel, who joined the Bearcats in December and now prepares for her first competitive season with the team. She comes to SBU after having coached at the NAIA level with Spartanburg Methodist College for a year in which she led them to their first Appalachian Athletic Conference Tournament game in the school's history. Pekel also has experience building a new program from when she led New College of Florida's first intercollegiate soccer team.
 
To help Pekel hit the ground running in her first competitive season with the team, she has the help of several influential returners. One of these returners is junior goalkeeper Cece Alexander. Alexander recorded 104 saves last season. She's recorded four career collegiate shutouts and currently sits in sixth place all time for SBU in career saves with 199. With just two seasons played for the Bearcats, Alexander will be a key figure in taking a leadership role as an upperclassman.
 
Pekel will also be aided in attack by a trio of returners in the Shuler sisters and Lydia Fickle, who were the Bearcats second, third, and fourth top scorers from a year prior. Annabelle Shuler, a returning captain and one of two players to start all 18 games last year, comes back from a junior season in which she tallied two goals, two assists, and 21 total shots. She will be hoping to make an even bigger impact in her senior season. Addi Shuler and Fickle each scored three goals from 26 shots while adding one assist. All three ladies will hope to further increase their goal contributions this fall.
 
The Bearcats have also expanded their coaching staff. Loris Tsiatsipy returns for his second season as the women's soccer graduate assistant while Dawson Sawyer joins for his first season as a volunteer assistant coach. Most notably, however, the leading scorer (eight goals) and assister (three assists) from the 2025 season, Tamerra Gantt, takes on a new position as volunteer assistant coach. She, and the rest of the coaching staff, are eager to help Pekel's first season at SBU become a success.
 
The Lady Bearcats' season begins on Thursday, August 27 at 5:00 p.m. when they travel to Clarksville, Arkansas to take on the University of the Ozarks. The team's conference schedule begins on September 5 with a home match against the University of Missouri - St. Louis, and their regular season concludes on October 24 at home against McKendree University.
 
Make sure to stay up to date with all things Bearcats, including the women's soccer season, by visiting sbubearcats.com and following @sbubearcats on Instagram for daily updates, news, content, and more.