CALVIN WOMEN’S SOCCER SEASON SUMMARY
The Calvin women’s soccer team is making its third straight NCAA III Tournament appearance including its 14
th overall. The Knights carry an overall record of 14-1-3 into tournament play. Calvin captured the MIAA regular season title with a 7-1-0 conference record and then captured the MIAA Tournament title last week, defeating Albion 1-0 in the semis and downing rival Hope in a penalty kick shootout after the game had concluded in a 1-1 tie.
Calvin is under the direction of sixth-year head coach Emily Ottenhoff who was a standout player with the Calvin women’s soccer team from 2006-09, earning All-America honors as a midfielder as a senior in 2009. Calvin has won four straight MIAA regular season titles under her leadership.
The Knights feature a balanced scoring attack with 12 Calvin players scoring two goals or more this fall. Senior Liz Williams leads the attack with seven goals, 11 assists and 25 points. Senior Maggie Smith scored the game-tying goal in Saturday’s match with Hope. She has four goals, six assists and 14 points.
The backline is anchored by two-time MIAA MVP Lucy Iverson. The sophomore centerback has three goals and an assist this fall. Iverson was one of four Knights to receive All-MIAA first team accolades. Iverson, Williams, senior midfielder Kaitylyn VanLaare and sophomore midfielder Mia Judd were all named to the first team. Senior center back Rory Pruis and sophomore midfielder Elie Farrell were named to the second team. Farrell is second on the team in scoring with six goals, three assists and 15 points.
DENISON WOMEN’S SOCCER SEASON SUMMARY
In its first season under the direction of Head Coach Sarah Brink, the Denison University women’s soccer team is headed to the NCAA Division III Championship. Denison will carry an 8-4-6 overall record into Grand Rapids, Michigan, where the Big Red will face the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) in the opening round of the tournament at 5:30 p.m. on Friday,
November 10.
This marks the second year in a row the Big Red have qualified for the NCAA Tournament and is the 18th bid in program history.
The Big Red earned the North Coast Athletic Conference automatic qualifier to the tournament after blanking DePauw University by a score of 2-0 to win the program's fifth
NCAC Tournament Championship.
Senior forward Callie Davis, who was named the NCAC Tournament’s Most Valuable Player, leads the Big Red in goals (5), assists (3) and points (13) this season while sophomore forward Kendall Sierens has added four goals and nine points and senior forward Caroline Garrard has three goals and eight points. In addition, sophomore goalkeeper Molly Noga has started in all 18 matches and has posted eight shutouts to go along with 57 saves, a 0.95 goals-against average and a .770 save percentage.
Leading the Big Red in the midfield and defensive side of the field have been senior midfielder Ellie Reiser, junior defender Kate Dalimonte, sophomore defenders Avery Butler and Sarah Sollinger, freshman midfielder Mara McGlone and freshman defender Reily Brinley.
MSOE WOMEN’S SOCCER SEASON SUMMARY
The Raiders secured their tournament bid by besting Illinois Tech in the NACC Championship 1-0, behind a Maggie Thillman goal in the second overtime period. The Raiders are returning to the tournament for the first time since 2021.
The Raiders opened their season alternating wins and draws before rattling off five straight wins. The Raiders suffered their first loss of the season against Illinois Tech but bounced back with an impressive eleven-game unbeaten streak. The streak included ten wins, with six straight to close out the regular season.
Leading the way with thirty-eight points was sophomore forward and NACC Offensive Player of the Year Leena Afifi, with a team-high sixteen goals. Sophomore forward Elizabeth Kuhn was not far behind with thirteen goals, while senior midfielders Grace Quinn and Emma Halverson proved to be consistent playmakers with five assists a piece. Senior goalkeepers Reagan Tompkins and Megan Lacina proved to be an effective battery, combining for forty-six saves on the season and only seven goals allowed.
The Raiders balanced attack led them to an average margin of victory of 2.76 goals, good for second best in the conference and standing amongst the elite of Division III.
SPALDING WOMEN’S SOCCER SEASON SUMMARY
The Spalding University heads into NCAA III Tournament play with a 9-6-3 overall record. The Eagles earned an automatic bid to the NCAA III Tournament by winning the SLIAC Conference Tournament title last weekend, defeating Greenville 1-0 in the championship final.
Spalding carries a six-game win streak into tournament play. The Eagles are under the direction of first-year head coach Jordan Vejar who previously served as a head coach at the high school and club level.
Faith Rutherford is the go-to player for the Spalding attack as she has 11 goals, 11 assists and 33 points this year. She scored the game-winning goal in Saturday’s 1-0 victory over Greenville.
Melaney Frick is another player to watch with seven goals, one assist and 15 points. Baeli Young has tallied five goals, an assist and 11 points. Jordan Schneider has been the primary goalkeeper for the Eagles, recording a goals-against-average of 0.98 with 72 saves and seven shutouts.
Rutherford and Young were both named to the All-SLIAC First Team. Frick was a second team all-conference selection.
