Soccer scores a spot in the history books

Photo provided by Emily Hinze

Wildcat soccer wins MIAC Championship, making St. Kate’s history

On Sat., Nov. 6, the Wildcat soccer team won their game against the College of St. Benedict 1-0, solidifying their spot as the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Women’s Soccer Conference Champions.

“It still feels unreal that we won the MIAC,” says Emily Hinze ‘23 (Nursing). “I’m really proud of us. We played some amazing competitors this year but we were able to come together and finish it off every game. We knew we had something special coming into the fall, we just didn’t know how special. We broke record after record after record this year.”

After winning the conference, the Wildcats won the bid to host the first round of the NCAA regional tournament at the home field on the weekend of Nov. 13-14. Although the Wildcats lost to the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse team 0-1 on Sunday, they marked their amazing season by beating the University of Wisconsin-Superior team 4-0 on Saturday.

Hinze, number 22 on the soccer field, expresses that she felt that people doubted that they would win this season, but the Wildcats pushed through nonetheless and proved these people wrong.

“Our motto this year was to ‘stay humble and hardworking,’” continues Hinze. “We competed hard in practice and pushed each other to the best of our abilities.  Every time we stepped on that field, we were playing for each other [because] we are a family.”

Amora “Mo” Valencia ‘22 (Exercise Science pre-PT)  agrees that this year’s team was so cohesive because they are so close, and she nods at their resilience and drive throughout the entirety of the season.

The Wildcats celebrate a goal during one of their regular season games. (Photo courtesy of Hinze)

“I have never been so proud to be a part of a team like this before,” says Valencia, whose jersey number is 2. “They inspire me to work hard every day, and it was both exciting and rewarding to see that our hard work had paid off and that we were able to accomplish so much. Over the course of my four seasons playing soccer, I knew that this would be the team who could win a conference title.”

This year, the Wildcat soccer team is making history by being ranked 25th in the Nation, 2nd in the Region, and 1st in the MIAC conference.

“I’m not sure I can fully wrap my head around how well we did this year yet, it feels like a dream,” Hinze remarks. “It has been an unbelievable season with an unforgettable team. It will definitely be one that I remember forever.”

Overall, the women’s soccer season record is 15 wins, 2 losses, and 3 ties (15-2-3).

“This is the best season record in St. Kate’s Soccer history,” Valencia says.