WATERTOWN, Wis. -- The 2025 season was filled with ups and downs for the Sabercats Women's Soccer Team, who battled through injuries and a diminished squad through the campaign, emerging with a couple of wins after a difficult season. From last season, 13 of the 20 players either graduated or didn't return to the team, so the Sabercats had their work cut out for them.

After being held goalless through the first four fixtures, the Sabercats broke through on the scoresheet at Eureka, as Amelia Schroeder found the back of the net in a 3-1 loss. It was fitting that Schroeder opened the goalscoring account, as the junior broke into the 9th spot all-time on the career goals list for Maranatha Women's Soccer. Schroeder led the Sabercats with 3 goals on the season.

The Sabercats' two wins came against Andrews University, as Maranatha won 5-1 on the road and 4-1 at home. Schroeder fueled the first win with a goal and 3 assists, as Julia Kennedy and Samantha Sipla both scored their first collegiate goals. At home, Lilly Cook and Charis Paez netted their first career goals as the Sabercats took their second win of the season.



"The goals we had this season were that we would compete for the Lord and play for one another," said Coach Jarid Lawson at last week's Athletic Awards Assembly. "When you lose 13 out of 20 people in on year, it can negatively affect the culture of your team so we had a focus to maintain the positive culture that had been built over the years."

The Sabercats will have key pieces to fill next year, as the following seniors or graduates left their final marks on the program:

Jocelyn Metcalf, Megan Prigge, Alayna Smith, Emily Wilson

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OVERVIEW

• Record: 2-13
• NCCAA Finish: NCCAA Midwest Region Semifinal
• Notable: 5 NCCAA All-Region selections

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AWARDS

At the semester-end Athletic Awards Assembly, the Sabercats announced their team awards, which are voted on by the team and are based on the team's CORE BELIEF DOCUMENT. In addition to these honors, the student-athletes earned awards from the National Christian College Athletic Association.

A complete breakdown of the awards is listed below:

TEAM AWARD	RECIPIENT
Core Values Award	Lilly Cook
Offensive Player Award	Alayna Smith
Defensive Player Award	Julia Kennedy
Compete Award	Grace Strauch, Samantha Sipla
NCCAA All-Region Selections
Chloe Dodd (1st Team)	Megan Prigge (Honorable Mention)
Julia Kennedy (1st Team)	Emily Wilson (Honorable Mention)
Alayna Smith (1st Team)
NCCAA Scholar-Athletes (JR, SR, GS only)
Jocelyn Metcalf	Amelia Schroeder
Charis Paez	Emily Wilson

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For more on the program, visit the team page HERE.