University of the Cumberlands women’s soccer wins NAIA National Championship

The University of the Cumberlands women’s soccer team made history Tuesday afternoon by securing the program’s first-ever NAIA National Championship Title.

The Patriots ended the regular season with a 12-0-3 record, and ended up settling for a runner-up finish in the Mid-South Conference tournament after a 2-0 loss to Cumberland University (Tenn.) on November 10.

The Patriots had the opportunity to host an opening round game in this year’s NAIA National Championship Tournament on November 18, defeating visiting University of Northwestern Ohio, 2-0, to advance in the tournament.

With the opening round victory, Cumberlands moved on to Foley, Ala., where the remainder of the tournament would be played. They defeated Ottawa University Arizona, 2-0, on November 28, and followed that up two days later with another 2-0 victory over Hope International University (Calif.).

These wins advanced the Patriots to the national tournament semifinals, where once again they were able to advance with a 2-0 victory, this time over Spring Arbor University out of Michigan.

Equally impressive in this year’s NAIA tourney was William Carey University (Miss.), whom Cumberlands met up with in Tuesday afternoon’s championship game. William Carey came into the tourney finals with a perfect 24-0 record, securing a Southern States Athletic Conference title along the way.

In the national tournament, the Crusaders defeated Xavier University of Louisiana, Keiser University, Aquinas College and University of Tennessee Southern en route to their championship encounter with the Patriots.

Tuesday’s title game was a thriller, with Cumberlands pulling out an emotional win in a penalty kick shootout following two overtime periods.

The News Journal would like to congratulate the UC women’s soccer team on this monumental accomplishment. For more information, please visit www.cumberlandspatriots.com or www.naia.org.

2023 University of the Cumberlands women’s soccer team members include: Kallen Fuller, Laura Bosca, Nicole Araujo, Abigail Little, Samantha Sokolove, Madison Long, Camryn Broz, Berkeley Morey, Anabel Luedecke, Lucia Gomez, Hedvig Persson, Judit Moya, Carola Fontan, Madison Hudley, Noah Paalman, Alba Ramirez, Laura Vogt, Olaya Blanco, Rita Aguye, Sarah Hammerstone, Jayden Boelter, Georgia Martell, Amy Anderson and Taylor Bouma. Head Coach Steven Hamilton, assistants Quentin Boric and Joel Drewery.

Teaser image courtesy of UC Sports Information