By: Michael Del Genio
Women’s soccer season comes to a close after a crushing 4-0 loss to #10 Illinois Institute of Technology. A hard-fought regular season riddled with many big-time injuries to key players landed them 9-3 in conference with a 12-5-1 overall finish.
Senior captain Sarah Matuszek was honored with Northern Athletic Collegiate Conference (NACC) All-Conference First Team honors with fellow captain Kamryn Klinger being awarded NACC All-Conference Second Team honors as well as senior forward Mia Dosen.
Senior Natalia Lopez and sophomore Gianna Stanek also received NACC All-Conference honorable mentions for their seasons.
Klinger comments on the season, “We’ve all just come together and played for something bigger than ourselves this season. We’ve been the underdog in a lot of games, just trying to come out on top.”
The team was picked to place third in preseason polls and landed fourth in conference after many hard-fought wins with multiple game-winning goals connecting in the second half.
Throughout the year, injuries plagued the team to the point that they were working at one point with only three available substitutions.
“The injuries that was a huge challenge for us as a team and individually, racking a ton of minutes on legs that are getting heavy throughout the season, and now a lot of girls have played full 90s (minutes),” Klinger adds.
Coach Carlos Carillo praises the team for their resolve through injuries, “We’ve had a lot of injuries, we’ve had three subs, maybe four, and that’s all we really had. The group did a great job, training-wise, staying together, and working through every game, one game at a time, and I thought overall the group did a great job.”
The resolve is highlighted by Dosen, who comments, “As a team, you hit the brunt of the season where you have to push yourself to get through. It wasn’t necessarily bad; we all recognized it and had to push through. More positive than negative.”
That team awareness and reflection led a surge through their last four regular-season games, where they outscored opponents 14-4.
The surge was enough to carry the team past Concordia University Wisconsin in the NACC quarterfinal, 2-1, leading them to face Illinois Institute of Technology in the semifinal where their season came to an unfortunate close.
The team graduates nine seniors who all played impactful roles in their team’s success. Klinger reflects on her four years in the program, “I hope to leave behind a legacy that sets an impact and kind of sets the tone for years to follow, starting traditions, wanting the culture to be continued in a positive but intense way.”
Dosen adds, “I feel like with transferring in, it can be very scary. I transferred in last year (2024), and the thought that grass isn’t always greener on the other side was not something that I experienced. It was definitely greener here. I feel like through that, being comfortable with the team and making lifelong friendships and finding my best friends was something that I’ll definitely carry with me.”
Sophomore goalkeeper Gianna Stanek praises the seniors for their leadership, “I feel like they really helped the freshmen come in and just embrace them immediately, and took them under their wing and taught them the ways of college soccer and how adjustments are always going to have to be made. Learning college lingo, college ball, which is a step up from high school or club. I feel they did a great job incorporating their knowledge into the field with them.”
Coach Carillo shares his respect, “I’m appreciative of this group, of the impact they brought to the program and their teammates.”
The team believes in their chances going into next season, as it has been an astounding twelve years since the last time the program missed conference playoffs. The next step for the program, “Recruit more talented, good people, who are committed to the game and committed to themselves,” Carillo states.
