The Simpson women’s soccer team took on the Coe College Kohawks on Tuesday, Oct. 29 to round out regular season play. The 25th-ranked Storm secured a 7-1 finish in the American Rivers Conference regular season play with a 4-0 victory.
Heading into halftime, the scoreboard remained blank. A second-half spark showcased the Storm’s senior leadership and the strength of their deep bench. 5th-year senior, Hailey Kowzan opened the gates for the Storm, scoring the first goal of the evening 56 minutes into the matchup. This was Kowzan’s sixth goal of the year, marking a career high.
Shortly after, sophomore Anna Eide, put one in the back of the net, quickly putting the Storm up 2-0. The Kohawks could not match the talent of the Storm’s starting squad, nor their bench players. As the clock was winding down, junior Anna Sharp and freshman Hannah Jansen recorded their first goals of the season, rounding out the scoring for the evening.
Head coach Jeremy Reinert spoke on the tasks accomplished in the regular season finale.
“We checked a few boxes that we needed to in that game, we held a shutout, scored a handful of goals, and were able to rest some players and start to get healthy,” Reinert said.
Sophomore Pepper Earle tallied one assist on the evening to Kowzan. Freshman Addie Burch crafted her first two assists on the season, assisting Sharp and Jansen.
Senior captain Maddie Hays and Reinert both attested to the high level of talent that runs throughout the entire program.
“It’s never the same person necessarily scoring, and that makes it exciting because we can share success,” Hays said.
Reinert added, “We feel like we have a foot in two eras, we have got some older players who have played a lot of minutes in their time here, but we also have a really young group.”
The next task at hand for the Storm is the American Rivers Conference tournament, in which the Storm earned a first-round bye.
“We are looking to play in the conference championship game, we have to play a tough game here at home first, which will be exciting,” Hays said.
The Storm will face off against the winner of the Wartburg-Luther matchup on Wednesday, Nov. 6 at Buxton Stadium, to earn a trip back to the conference title game for the third year in a row.
“We are not promised anything outside of next Wednesday, so it is going to take all of our energy, effort, enthusiasm and focus so that we can prepare for Wartburg or Luther,” Reinert said.
Director of Athletics Communication, Emma Christensen, shares her excitement approaching the postseason, knowing the possibilities for the Storm.
“I love watching them and I feel very connected to what they’re doing,” Christensen said.
With high hopes of returning to the NCAA tournament, the Storm hold the mentality of focusing on one game at a time.
“Obviously we have big goals and ambitions but we’re focusing on where our feet are now in order to get there,” Hays said.
The NCAA selection show is on Monday, Nov. 11 if the Storm don’t secure an automatic bid by winning the conference title.
