RU Women's Soccer Wraps Up Successful Spring Season

Waleska, GA - Reinhardt Women's Soccer is coming off a good fall 2023 season with an overall record of 13-6-1 and 12-1-1 in AAC play - however, it is not where they wanted to finish as they were edged out of the NAIA National Playoffs finishing narrowly behind Truett-McConnell and Tennessee Wesleyan in the AAC Tournament. This adds extra motivation for the team that wants to get back to where they belong as one of the top AAC teams and a secured spot in the national tournament.  The spring "off-season" is when you want to prepare for the upcoming fall season and the team took full advantage of this opportunity.

The team scheduled three games for the spring against some tough competition going 3-0 in those games.  They played Chattanooga FC, Young Harris College (NCAA DII), and Shorter University (NCAA DII) winning by a combined score of 24-0.

The Eagles are led by returning team captain and starting goalkeeper, Sarah Bambrick, who helped them keep the zero on the scoreboard from their opponents this spring. Bambrick will be a key player for the Eagles in the 2024 fall season as a three-year starter.  Bambrick had this to say about this spring, "We had a really successful spring season. The girls worked hard to be in shape and ready for our Spring games despite a few injuries. The team really came together and played some great soccer as we dominated on the field. We look to continue our success in the Fall, winning the conference and making a run to nationals!"

Reinhardt will officially kick off their season on Wednesday 8/21 with a home game against the University of the Cumberlands.  The Patriots are always among the top teams in the NAIA for women's soccer and will be great competition for the Eagles next fall.  Last fall, the Eagles narrowly lost 1-0 to Cumberlands on the road. The Patriots went on to win the NAIA Championship for Women's Soccer as they upset the favorite - William Carey - in the finals.

Coach Andy Kaplan is very excited about the upcoming fall as he will be coming back with an experienced group.  At times, he started three freshmen during the fall 2023 season and those freshmen will now be experienced sophomores who will have a better chance to shine. Besides Bambrick returning in goal, the Eagles will have Haley Sturla, Ashley Frye, and Sarah Bruce as team seniors - all of whom play significant roles in the starting lineup.

Kaplan added this about the spring season and getting ready for the fall, "The team just finished our most successful spring season in the history of our program.  We played some quality opponents, including 2 Division 2 programs, and won all of our games in convincing fashion.  I saw significant individual improvement as well as collective team development.  The team worked very hard on the field and in the weight room.  Most important, our team continued our tradition of academic success.  The honors bestowed upon Women's Soccer players at academic awards night is a testament to the quality of young women we have in our program."

Besides getting the work done on the field, the Eagles shine in the classroom as well. Recently, members of the soccer team were honored by the University for their achievements in the classroom. Last week, several team members were invited to attend the evening of Honors at Flint Hall to celebrate their academic achievements. Each of these women is a junior or senior and has a GPA of 3.6 or above. Here are the academic awards they received:

• Sarah Bambrick, junior - School Achievement Award, School of Business, Sports Studies 
• Aryn Parrish, senior - School Achievement Award, School of Business, Accounting
• Katie Renard, senior - Academic Program Award, Studio Art
• Haley Sturla, senior - Academic Program Award, Sports Studies
• Marta Vicente-Arche, senior - Academic Program Award, Cybersecurity
• Ryelyn Wells, senior - Academic Program Award, Elementary Education

Pictured: Ryelyn Wells, Sarah Bambrick, Aryn Parrish, Sarah Bruce, Lidia Herrera, Marta Vicente-Arche, Ella Higdon, Katie Renard, Haley Sturla, Lilly Belcher

Reinhardt will have a seventeen-game schedule next fall with 9 of those games being at Ken White Field. The team will return in late July/early August to start preparing for their season and you can expect that they will be ready to go to work their way back into the NAIA Nationals.  The fall 2024 schedule will be released soon so check back on www.reinhardteagles.com for updates.