Putting the Puzzle Pieces Together

A glance at the soccer team’s triumphs and what it took to get there

By M Yeager

With the impending snow comes the end of the season for fall sports like soccer. This year, the St. Kate’s soccer team not only won the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference’s (MIAC) all-season title, but also made it to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) playoffs. The season title is the second in a row for the team and the third in St. Kate’s soccer history.

The soccer team ended its season with a 13-4-5 record overall and a 7-2-2 record for MIAC, which is a feat in itself. The championship title is a huge accomplishment as well, especially twice in a row. “It’s a lot harder to do twice,” said Kate Praetz ‘24 (Biology), goalkeeper. “It was much more of a challenge for us to get here this year compared to last year. Last year the road was more consistently upwards, whereas we had some dips within our season. It was also a much different team than last year in terms of the people.”

As far as making it to the NCAA playoffs, both Praetz and defensive midfield Sophia Campbell ‘23 (Biology) found it “exciting.” Just like becoming MIAC champions, it was their second year in a row making it to the NCAA tournament, and the road had its ups and downs. Despite the low points in the season, Campbell and Praetz both felt that the team could do it. “I know we had the talent in the beginning,” Campbell said. “What we struggled with throughout the year was just finding the drive within ourselves.”

St. Kate’s soccer team portrait Credit: NCAA

Praetz thought about the team at the beginning of the season in terms of a puzzle with numerous pieces. “All the puzzle pieces were there; we just had to put them together.” Praetz also notes, “It took us a bit longer than in the past to get those pieces together, but once it finally did, I felt like we were going to be able to do something special again.” 

The puzzle piece metaphor also fits well with Praetz’s reaction to being named the MIAC Playoffs Most Valuable Player this season. “I definitely couldn’t have had the success without my other teammates and the backline,” Praetz said. “If they weren’t doing so much of the work in front of me, I wouldn’t have been able to have the success that I’ve had. It’s super exciting for myself, but also I think that they should take a lot of credit for that.” 

This season, the soccer team added nine first-years to their roster, three more than the 2021 season. The new faces and new dynamics were small points of challenge and growth for the team this year. “We had a fairly consistent team for the last two years,” Praetz said. “We added and lost a couple of players here and there, but I think that this is a very new team. [...] It was cool to see the growth that we did have, in terms of team dynamics and how we dealt with internal things that helped us grow together as a team.” The new players were also crucial to the success of the season. “They all stepped up in big moments when we needed them,” Campbell said. 

Campbell and several other players are graduating this year, which brings new possibilities for the team next season. “It will be very different not having some of our seniors and fifth-years,” Praetz said. “They were all our captains, so a lot of our leaders from this past year won’t be here. I think it will be exciting for so many people to step up and attempt to fill their shoes and seeing how new faces impact the team.” 

We cannot predict the future—however, if the soccer team’s triumphs this year are anything to go by, they can overcome anything that’s kicked their way, pun intended.