Iowa Western Women's Soccer National Championships
2013 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS
Iowa Western Women's Soccer opened up the 2013 NJCAA national tournament in Melbourne, Fla., with shutout victories over Lake County Community College (Ill.) 5-0 and Monroe College (N.Y.) 1-0 to reach the semifinals. After battling Laramie County Community College (Wyo.) to a scoreless tie in regulation, the Reivers advanced to the championship by winning a 4-3 penalty kick showdown.
In the title match, Iowa Western jumped to a 2-0 first-half lead on Navarro College (Texas) on goals by Celia Jimenez and Brianne Richards. Iowa Western gave up its first goal early in the second half, but Nicole Gowans scored spectacularly off the crossbar for a 3-1 cushion and the Reivers held on for victory. Kasandra Anderson and Paige Flores were named to the all-tournament team, while Jimenez earned Most Valuable Forward honors and Kelsey East was named Most Valuable Goalkeeper.
Head Coach Brad Silvey led the team to a 20-2-1 record and was named the Coach of the Tournament. Anderson was named the 2013 NSCAA Player of the Year after recording 13 goals and 14 assists throughout the season. The team outscored their 2013 opponents 134-11, recording 15 shutouts.
2022 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS
Iowa Western Women's Soccer claimed the program's second NJCAA D1 national championship after defeating Salt Lake CC 1-0 at Blanchard Woods Park in Evans, GA.
The Reivers defeated Polk State and Seminole State in pool play and knocked out the defending champions Eastern Florida State College 4-2 in the semi-final to advance to the program's fifth title match.
Iowa Western (19-3-1) dominated the first half of the match, taking 13 shots to just two by the Bruins. None, however, found the back of the net until a handball in the penalty box gave the Reivers an opportunity to strike in the 37th minute. Freshman forward Marta Llopis confidently took the penalty kick and buried it in the back of the net. Freshman goalkeeper Bella Washington stopped and saved five shots on goal, notching her 5th shutout of the season.
Marta Llopis was named the tournament's Offensive MVP and was the United Soccer Coaches National Player of the Year. Forward Hanna Schimmer was named the tournament MVP and Head Coach Adam Sanchez was named the Coach of the Tournament.
After starting the season 1-3-1, the team rattled off 18 victories in a row, one shy of the school record of 19 set during the 2007 campaign. During their 18-game winning streak, the team outscored their opponents 87-9. Only Eastern Florida State scored more than one goal against the Reivers (in the national semi-final).
Iowa Western finished the year with 142 assists, shattering the previous school record of 99 set in 2007.
Full recap can be found here.
2023 National Champions
Iowa Western Women's Soccer repeated as national champions, defeating Eastern Florida State College 1-0 in overtime.
The top-ranked Reivers rolled through the national tournament, defeating Laramie County 6-0 and Hill College 3-0 in pool play. The team then knocked out 11-seeded Cowley College, 1-0 on an early goal by sophomore Forward Nicole Navarro Aguilar. That set up a rematch of the 2022 national semi-final vs the EFSC Titans. Both teams played to a scoreless 90 minutes of regulation with both sides having multiple chances to win it in regulation.
The Reivers started the first overtime period with the ball, and sophomore defender Nanami Hata gained possession in the midfield and fed Navarro Aguilar outside of the 18-yard box. The forward fought through a pair of Titan defenders, striking a rocket to the top corner of the goal for the game-winner just 1:35 into extra time.
The win capped a perfect 18-0-0 season for Iowa Western, keeping a 36-game winning streak alive. The team became just the 5th NJCAA national champion to go unscored upon in the national tournament and the first since the 2020-21 Spring national championship.
Full recap can be found here.
