John Kipper, Staff Writer

The women’s soccer season ended after being denied entry into the NCAA Playoff Tournament.  The MIAC Championship game resulted in a heartbreaking 3-1 loss to St. Thomas, making the Tommies the only team to beat Augsburg University twice this season. Overall, the Auggies finished 14-7 (8-3 in the MIAC).

While it would be easy to bemoan the loss, let’s revisit what made the 2018 campaign successful. After a tough 4-5 start, the team took off on a furious winning streak, with the only losses since September 26th being to St. Thomas. Of the 14 wins, 11 were shutouts. Perhaps even more impressive, 9 of the wins came on the road.

The team graduates four seniors this year (Jessy Wiskofske, Nora Edelen, Kealie Espinda Banick, and Kate Johnston). Assuming the majority of the remaining core comes back next year, Augsburg would be fielding an even more experienced squad used to winning and with extensive playoff experience. The team should be in contention for another conference championship and NCAA playoff opportunity.

This article was originally published in the Nov. 9, 2018 issue.