Story Contributed by Tyler Price, NAIA Athletics Communications

ORANGE BEACH, Ala. – [Bracket | Box Score] In a matchup of Crossroads League foes, No. 2 Marian (Ind.) and No. 4 Spring Arbor (Mich.) clashed in the 39^th NAIA Women’s Soccer National Championship match at the Orange Beach Sportsplex in Orange Beach, Ala.   

Spring Arbor grabbed the early lead and held on with a stout defensive effort. Madalyn Freitas recorded the games’ lone goal in the 10^th minute as the Cougars won their third NAIA National Championship, in a 1-0 victory. It was Freitas’ fifth goal of the season. The assist in the championship game’s lone goal came from Ariana Stolzfus.

Through the first half, Spring Arbor collected the majority of the set pieces with five corner kicks. After the first 45 minutes, the Cougars led in shots attempted, but Marian responded and pressured the SAU defense for the final minutes of the match. Marian attempted 14 shots on the day, while the Cougars attempted 11.

The Cougars previously won the NAIA National Championship in 2015 and 2017 under head coach, Jason Crist, who is the NAIA’s all-time wins leader in women’s soccer.

Marian’s trip to the NAIA National Title match was its second in team history. The first came in 2019 as the Knights made a miraculous run as the No. 12-seed to face Keiser (Fla.) in the championship bout.

Monday’s match was the second of the season for the two to face each other. Marian collected the win, 2-1, in their first meeting back on September 28.

The two were also destined for a rematch in the conference tournament championship in November, but inclement weather forced that game to be canceled. By virtue of tiebreak procedures set by the conference, Marian was declared the of the conference tournament, which secured an automatic berth into the championship field.

SAU finished the season 20-1-3, while Marian fell to 21-1-2.

NAIA National Tournament All-Tournament Team:

Spring Arbor (Mich.) – Blair Currie – Goalkeeper

Spring Arbor (Mich.) – Becca Mindling – Defender

Keiser (Fla.) – Maja Henriksson – Defender

William Carey (Miss.) – Camila Pescatore – Defender

Spring Arbor (Mich.) – MacKenzie Selvius – Midfielder

Keiser (Fla.) – Kyoka Koshijima – Midfielder

Cumberlands (Ky.) - Laura Navajas – Midfielder

Cumberlands (Ky.) – Selena Barnett – Midfielder

Marian (Ind.) – Naomi Walters – Forward

Marian (Ind.) – Erin Oleksak – Forward

Tennessee Southern – Estelle Badoedana Ekada – Forward

Embry Riddle (Ariz.) – Katy Hyde – Forward

NAIA Women’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Tournament – Marian (Ind.) – Erin Oleksak – Forward

NAIA Women’s Soccer Defensive Player of the Tournament – Spring Arbor (Mich.) – Blair Currie – Goalkeeper

NAIA Women’s Soccer Most Valuable Player – Spring Arbor (Mich.) – Becca Mindling – Defender