Funding a professional women's league - WPSL PRO interview part 2
The franchise entry fee for Division 2-hopefuls WPSL PRO is lower than anything else in the market. In part 2 of our interview with Project Director Benno Nagel, he explains the finances behind the league. (You can catch up with Part 1 here)
What was the last number for NWSL, like $115 million? I think if you throw that up for Division 1, and then for the Super League, I don't know, but they're selling it for a lot more than $1 million. So we just saw an opportunity to provide a chance for folks to buy into professional soccer. We're not gonna sell it for a dollar but we felt that a million dollars was a good number and it's actually a payment that's structured over several years, so it's not a million dollars you have to pay upfront. It's not a bad thing that the NWSL is able to charge that much for their license, it's actually an amazing thing. It's a sign of the growth of the market. I would say the same for the Super League. It's awesome that people are willing to pay that amount of money to play professional soccer.
That's really amazing. At the same time, when you look at how much it costs to operate these teams, and you go back to the premise that we have of "how do we be an athlete first league? How are we a club community first league?" If you give us $5 million to join, I'd rather that $4 million go to your market and go to your community and go to your athletes and go to your staff and just go to your project to make sure that it's gonna be sustainable. We don't need $50 million to run the league. It'd be great to take $50 million and claim $40 million as profit and give it back to your investors and your shareholders, but would that service soccer or would that just service the owners of our league?
We really want to do this to serve soccer and we had to make a number that was gonna be realistic because we do need some resources to operate as a league and we're very lucky that we've got investors at the league level that are gonna support the league operation.
Everything is geared towards how we make it affordable for clubs. So we felt that a million dollars was a healthy number. We're gonna spread it over several years. Anything beyond that, we just felt that it was an overreach.
How do you put your money to work in your community? That's really the most important thing for us, communities and players. You got all the money in the world or you got no money in the world, it's almost equally difficult to go get a facility project.
I think if you look at a group like Carolina Core. Obviously look at a group like Cleveland, those can be the high benchmarks. Look at Sioux Falls. Look at markets like Oklahoma City and Dallas. Think about the Bay Area where I'm at. There's a lot of groups and we don't just want to be a league for the 500,000 plus markets, but how do we penetrate into Little Rock, AR, Wichita, KS, Omaha, NE. There's just so many places that should have teams like this.
Will there be a maximum, a minimum, or an average salary set? I saw that MLS Next Pro doesn't, but USL Championship, in contrast, at D2 for the men's side does.
Yeah we're gonna have minimum standards obviously, in terms of what people need to do to perform in their market and what that leads to in terms of like compensation but we're not necessarily gonna have a cap on what people want to spend. If somebody wants to spend more on certain players or they want to spend more on their roster we're all for it. Of course, those clubs will still have to present a financial plan but if somebody shows that they want to invest, there's been enough impediments and barriers to investing in women's soccer for decades. We don't want to create more of 'em. We don't wanna have people coming into the space and trying to do it for pennies on the dollar. We want to make sure that the athletes are fully professional, that there's safe environments, that there's environments that can have the resources from medical to housing, to travel, to all the stuff that we want to do to make sure it's professionalized.
However, we don't want to curtail anybody's ambition, and we want to make sure that folks have a plan, right? We do want people to go out and think about, "Hey, how do I go get a household name?" Yeah. It's not gonna help me with my community engagement. And what is that gonna cost? I think there's a lot of different ways that we can structure some of these deals as well. And look, there's even possibility that the league in some form, maybe not in the first year, but in some form, could actually have some ability to help supplement certain rosters or certain budgets for certain players.
If we feel that there's a player that's gonna really impact the league, whether that's a big household name that's going for their final final dance or it was time to spend 10 years in the league and they want to come over to play for us or a top prospect that's gonna maybe become an asset and be a player, we can maybe support that.
And last but not least, there's a profit sharing angle to the involvement of the athletes in this.
We'll have more to share on that later, but yes, there is a construct where both the clubs and the athletes will have profit share.
And with that, we will move on to how the new league can empower athletes, in part 3 of this interview next week.
WPSL PRO to seek Division 2 sanctioning
Having spent its embryonic phases identifying as a league which was going to apply for Division 3 sanctioning, WPSL PRO announced this week that it was revising that aim and instead targeting Division 2. The move is anchored by an announcement that Cleveland Sports Group will be a founding member, months after they unsuccessfully bid for an expansion franchise in the NWSL.
From his office in Northern California, WPSL PRO project director Benno Nagel has a global perspective on the development of women's football, and sees his new league as the answer to questions that have been posed for too long.
Our vision has always been to build a successful league and a viable league and a league that we feel can maximize the opportunity and fill that void the best. There's two groups at the top and then three or four groups at the very bottom. And that division three, division two spots are both open really. If you look at the division two versus division three requirements for the Pro League Standards, they're not much different and so we just felt that there'd be a better opportunity for us to provide a slightly higher level of operations to provide hopefully a higher level of play and just to enhance our reach when we look at commercial partners and sponsorship opportunities and just all the things that we want to do we felt that being a division two league to start was a better platform for that.
And Nagel even addressed promotion or relegation.
I think right now, let's get through the first two seasons, and I wouldn't count fall of 2026. That's a half season kickoff launch. I would expect to see if we can be successful at the first two years and add teams at the level to which we think that we can, then I would believe that by 2028 you'd start seeing some movement towards a Division 3 sanctioning application. Then new teams that would come into the pipeline would have that option of either starting division two or populating division three. We have no ambitions for a Division 1 league, Division 2 is the top of our pyramid. Division 4 (the amateur WPSL), where we already have a tremendous base of close to 150 teams and you could see how that future division three could slot in rather nicely and create a true connected ecosystem across all the levels. We do want to achieve some sort of a promotion/relegation structure between Division 2 and Division 3.
What Division 2 has that Division 3 doesn't have, is a requirement that the majority of markets are in metro areas of 500,000.
So are they confident that they'll meet that and won't end up having to decline smaller markets because of the balance of the league?
If you think about Cleveland, if you think about Oklahoma City, where I'm at in the Bay Area, Dallas, Atlanta, we're not concerned about that. We feel that there's pathways for all the teams that we currently have to qualify for that.
The teams they "currently have" is an ever evolving list.
We're still working through the structure of what will that launch look like. That may impact the number of teams that we want to have to start for the first full season. We're hoping to have somewhere between 12 to 16 teams that will join, and that's the spring of 2027. So from that, would all of those groups want to start in the fall of 2026? Maybe there's only a few that do. Everybody has a different preference for how they go to market. We see a way with the critical mass of teams that we have. We know for a fact that we'll be able to do something in the fall of 2026.
Stay tuned for part two of our interview, on the new league's finances, next week.
US Open Cup Second Round Review
Des Moines Menace 1-2 Union Omaha
The Menace again fielded a star-studded line-up, as they welcomed Union down I-80 to Des Moines but the current pros of Omaha strolled out to a comfortable 2-0 lead. A slick piece of passing and a wicked cross from the right was blasted home by Dean Acoff to make it 1-0. The lead was doubled after a goalkeeping error as a shot from Josue Gomez was parried softly back to the Union player. The hosts staked a claim with a 54th minute penalty kick, which also saw the Nebraskans reduced to ten men, Benny Feilhaber with the goal.
Leroy Enzugusi had a golden chance to tie the game in the 81st minute, but after rushing onto a ball behind, he chipped it marginally wide of the keeper and Union Omaha did not face any other challenges.
Defeat for the Menace means $50,000 goes to defending NPSL champions El Farolito as the amateur side which has gone the furthest in this edition of the Cup.
Also of note:
Forward Madison 1-3 FC Tulsa. The Roughnecks make it two home losses for teams from the Northland in this round and conclude our coverage of this year's tournament. Thanks for following along. A reminder that Minnesota United join in the fourth round. Details on our sister site Northland Soccer Journal
US Open Cup Second Round Preview
Having proven that they can beat a team of developmental professionals from an MLS club and still facing the recruitment battle that amateur sides all face in the Cup's early rounds, Des Moines Menace now play a second division 3 professional side in Union Omaha. The Owls are the defending USL League One champions and secured their first win of the young league season, cruising to a 3-1 win on the road against South Georgia Tormenta.
Forward Madison moves on from their victory over Duluth FC in the first round to face FC Tulsa of the USL Championship. The Oklahoman club is 3-0-1 in their league and their hosts are 1-0-1 in League One.
Looking forward, the remaining Championship clubs will join for the third round, and the clubs MLS has deigned to include in the tournament will join in round four - including our own Minnesota United. Both Menace and Forward play on Wednesday night. Stay tuned to this site for full coverage, and follow us on Bluesky for live posts.
US Open Cup First Round Review - Forward Madison FC see off the BlueGreens
Forward Madison 5-1 Duluth FC
Forward Madison finished with a fistful of goals and a comfortable score-line but the course of the match may have been very different had Duluth FC’s Alex Mihov not raised his hands into the face of Nico Brown for a straight red card in the thirty-fifth minute. It only took Forward 5 minutes with the numerical advantage to score, through Ferrety Sousa but that was the extent of the damage at the half, in part because of a goal line clearance by Jake Starling in first half injury time.
A long-ball over the top of the Forward defense in the 63rd minute saw home defenders obstruct each other and Mario Fernandez swept the ball home after the on-rushing goalkeeper couldn't fully stop a shot. Ten minutes later, the home advantage was restored as Eddie Munjoma finished a passage of passes in close on the right wing. The final score gained an unrepresentative gloss in the 85th minute as Juan Galindrez broke out on the counter and settled the bouncing ball before half volleying it into the corner. John Murphy Jr slotted away Forward's 4th after Tristan Adams missed a cross, and it was 5 after Adam Braman in goal for Duluth conceded a PK and Galindrez saw his penalty saved but the rebound nestle in the net.
Coming Up:
Forward move onto the 2nd round, where they host FC Tulsa of the USL Championship on April 2nd at 6:30pm.
US Open Cup First Round Review - Sporting Kansas City II pay the penalty against Des Moines Menace
Sporting Kansas City II 1-2 Des Moines Menace
Des Moines Menace brought an experience-laden squad to the maelstrom of Swope Park, with a 15-year age gap between the two squads' average ages.
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However, even with the aid of wind gusting up to 45 mph at their backs, the home side failed to make their advantage count in the first half. SKCII accumulated 6 corners and hit the crossbar twice (within a minute).
With the visitors gaining the wind advantage in the second half, they might have been expected to stroll away. Still, neither team asserted themselves and it took until near the hour mark for the deadlock to be broken, from a penalty kick by Sacha Kljestan (52 caps for USA and 13 years in MLS, amongst other things) as Bradley Wright-Phillips (twice MLS golden boot winner) tiptoed through the minefield at the top of the SKCII area and Benny Feilhaber (150 games for SKC, 44 caps for USA and a former head coach of SKCII) burst through, only to be halted by a foul by Jacob Bartlett. Their lead would only last 5 minutes, as SKCII loaded the box and Beckham Uderitz slotted home the equalizer. In the 74th minute, a lightning fast attack down the right by Leroy Enzugusi for Menace set up the winning goal as he wriggled his way into the penalty area, stopped by a foul by an SKCII defender and despite a solid appeal for offside. The penalty kick, taken and scored by Kljestan for his second goal and last touch of the game, would be the winning goal.
Coming Up
The Menace, who will still be without a lot of their college-athletes and therefore likely to repeat the All Star trick, will enter the second round draw scheduled to take place after all the games are over this week (or most, since we have an anomalous Friday match due to weather). Stay tuned to our social media channels for more.
Tonight sees Duluth FC v Forward Madison in the capital of Wisconsin. Full coverage of that on our Bluesky, and here tomorrow.
Update:
The second round draw is out, with Des Moines Menace hosting Union Omaha , who won on the road against Flatirons FC
US Open Cup First Round Preview
A jam-packed mid-week schedule sees the return of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup after the conclusion of qualifying. With US Soccer deciding that every tie would feature an amateur club and a pro side, the Des Moines Menace of USL League Two faces Sporting Kansas City II of MLS NEXT PRO on Wednesday, and Duluth FC of NPSL travels to Forward Madison of USL League One. Since this is amongst the first match for everyone, there are precious few roster details available (apart from Menace, but more about that below)
The tournament structure has been revised yet again, with only 16 MLS sides competing (their NEXT PRO sides will represent the rest). The Loons are one of those 16.
Menacing the opposition since 1994
Des Moines Menace are the designated amateur side in their match. However, this is a weak distinction given that the Menace organization is pros-in-waiting (as USL Pro Iowa) and that they will field a roster thick with former pros who have reinstated as amateurs. Oh, and they are a two-time champion of their league, amateur though that is.
In their 13 year history of matches in the USOC, they have been knocked out by a panoply of professional sides, most recently Union Omaha last year.
SKC II have four players from the MLS club on their roster (Ian James, Jack Kortkamp, Jacob Bartlett and Stephen Afrifa) and 7 academy players from a 30 man squad and have started the season 0-2. Check out the action from SKC II vs MNUFC 2 last year for a snapshot of their recent past, via our sister sister site Northland Soccer Journal.
The Flamingos host the BlueGreens
Forward Madison will host Duluth FC for a second year in a row, having secured a 2-0 win in Wisconsin last year. The hosts began their season tonight, with a surprisingly blunt 2-0 defeat on the road against a resolute smash-and-grab effort from first year club FC Naples. The margin of defeat equals any of the 6 they suffered last season across four tournaments as they reached the semifinals of the USL League One playoffs and the final of the Jägermeister Cup, losing both on penalties.
Their guests are in the off-season but also reached the semifinals of their league, winning the Midwest Region on the way. The match will mark the first competitive outing for new head coach Thomás Pazo. The Carioca man joins following Sean Morgan's move to lead coaching for the Gitchi Gummi youth club. They played Dakota Fusion in 2018 to a wild PK shootout and played the Menace in the 2019 competition (reports courtesy of our predecessor, E Pluribus Loonum).
We will be live on BlueSky and will have a full recap on both these matches later.
USL W League continues to build in the Northland
The USL W League continues its expansion in the Northland, although a merger keeps the net number of teams the same as last year in the Heartland division of the Central Conference.
Chicago Dutch Lions struggled badly last season, accumulating a 3-0-9 record, which somehow was not the worst in the division. In the offseason, they merged their USL W and USL 2 operations with those of Chicago City SC. City, it should be noted, finished with a net positive goal difference and a third-place finish. The new joint venture is called Chicago City Dutch Lions FC.
The community-owned Minnesota Aurora FC continued their torrid run of form as a new club, with an unbeaten regular season before losing in the Conference Semifinals to Indy Eleven.
RKC Third Coast in Racine, WI, finished rock bottom of the Heartland division with a -49 goal difference.
River Light FC were the second-place qualifier from the Heartland division with an 8-1-3 record. They also lost in the Conference Semifinals.
Rochester FC finished 4-0-8 in the division.
Sioux Falls City FC join after a wildly successful, if short, tenure in the WPSL. Their joining USL W is only one part of a multifaceted plan.
Prospects
An ambitious City side will hope to present some challenge to the established order. In a friendly last year, they did tie with Aurora in a preseason friendly last year
USL League 2 waves goodbye to the Deep North
In the 30-year-old USL League 2, the Heartland Division of the Central Conference is our focus - with that conference the initial focus of any playoff run. Its former neighbor to the East has subsumed the Deep North division. Into the Heartland's Chicagoland base come a trio of Minnesotan clubs and one from Wisconsin. Out go the defending Deep North champions, Thunder Bay Chill, who have gone on hiatus, and Bavarian United, which focuses on UPSL and the Midwest Premier League. Out of the Heartland are St. Charles FC (who are not listed) and national runner-up Peoria City (who move to the Great Plains division).
None of the four playoff qualifiers from the Heartland or Deep North in 2024 are in the Heartland this season. The Central has five divisions.
From the Heartland
Chicago City Dutch Lions are a joint-venture of the operators of two previously separate USL clubs, Chicago City SC and Chicago Dutch Lions (who were one of 11 Dutch Lions teams fielded by the franchise across the USA). CCSC are an established youth operation in the area. Dutch Lions lost all 12 of their games last season, City managed two wins and 2 draws but only managed 6th place.
Joliet-based Sueño FC are a newcomer from last season, when they finished 5th of 7 in the Deep North.
River Light FC were 3 points outside a playoff spot from their base in Aurora, Illinois, with a 7-3-2 record.
From the Deep North
The storied crows of Minneapolis City SC finished 5th of 6 teams in the Deep North last season with 5 wins and 7 losses from a topsy-turvy season.
Their neighbors to the East, St. Croix Legends finished fourth, with a 5-2-5 record.
RKC Third Coast in Racine, WI finished two points short of the second playoff spot last season, with a 6-1-5 record.
Rochester FC finished bottom of the division, with a 2-1-9 record.
Prospects
With the playoff field yet to be established it is difficult to make predictions. However, the absence of all four of last year's playoff representatives would suggest a path for a different club (and maybe some from the Northland) to playoffs. Stay tuned.
A new North is unveiled by NPSL
There are no brand-new clubs to the North Conference of the NPSL, but it is getting longer and shorter at the same time with Dakota Fusion's hiatus and the entry of former Gateway Conference members Iowa Demon Hawks.
Of the four playoff qualifiers from the North in 2024, two (Dakota Fusion and Minnesota TwinStars) are not part of 2025's festivities. The TwinStars leave after 20 years at this level and a 30-year history overall that made them by far the oldest club in this division.
Duluth FC will be defending their region with a new head coach for the first time since 2020, with the departure of Sean Morgan. Their fellow playoff team, Joy Athletic Club, is joined by Lakeville's Minnesota Blizzard (who also play in MASL2 alongside the Demon Hawks) as the only presence in the Twin Cities metro.
The Demon Hawks arrive in the North, having lost in the Regional Semifinals to Duluth FC (as Des Moines United). The Demon Hawks are also an established MASL2 indoor team. There is a possible fresh rivalry between the Des Moines-based Demon Hawks and the Sioux City-based Siouxland United. On the subject of the latter, the Outlaws bring in Alex Trent as head coach off the back of his undefeated regular season with Fusion. Lastly, Sioux Falls Thunder remain in the conference and at Bob Young Field as another potential rival to the Iowans.
Also, a little note about the US Open Cup. The tournament saw Duluth FC seize a priority bid as regional winners and it turns out that Fusion were offered a spot (turned down because of hiatus) as spectacular regular season participants. The BlueGreens are on the road against Forward Madison of USL League One for the second consecutive year, largely as a consequence of two things: Relatively close proximity and a desire to match all amateurs against a pro side in the 1st round. We will be covering that for you.
The North no longer, WPSL does the hokey-pokey
The clubs and structure for the 2025 WPSL season have been announced.
With the departure of Sioux Falls City and Dakota Fusion (at least for now), the WPSL has taken the opportunity to reorganize (what was) the Northern Conference.
The Northern Conference has steadily grown while remaining an outlier until the point where last season, 10 teams competed for 1 playoff spot. Instead, 2025 will see the debut of the North Lakes Conference. To make the new conference, the Lake Michigan division shifts over from the Midwest Conference, and the remaining teams from the Northern Conference make up the Land of Lakes division.
Come playoff time, the winners of the two divisions will play a Conference Championship for a single spot in the Central Playoffs.
The returning teams in the Land of Lakes division
Salvo SC, who play at University of Northwestern in Roseville, MN, finished second in the North last season and are perennial challengers for a playoff berth.
Prior to Sioux Falls City's emergence, Richfield-based Minnesota Thunder provided a duopoly with Salvo but have consistently declined a playoff spot as a matter of club policy.
Joy Athletic Club are the NPSL arm of the St. Paul-based "free play" non-profit, who have thus far not challenged for a playoff spot.
White Bear Lake's Manitou FC finished the season with one win.
MapleBrook Fury are now MN Bliss , as part of a partnership with the UPSL's Tonka Fusion Elite. Formerly challengers, they endured a 2-2-5 season.
The eastern border of the Twin Cities metro (and the Wisconsin border) brings Stillwater, MN based St Croix Legacy.
Outside of the Metro, there remains Mankato United (who were challengers in the era of Jenny Vetter, but no longer) and Minnesota Dutch Lions (who were previously Rochester United FC)
Small Market, Grand Designs - Sioux Falls City looking to expand
Sioux Falls City's jump to USL-W is an expansion in every sense, as an energized Sporting Director Joe De May told us this evening.
I think when the ownership group started out they had grand designs at that time... Things have evolved and the women's sports landscape has really kind of taken off exponentially.
While WPSL PRO was "right in front of" the club and WPSL "has been a great platform for us, there's a lot of things from the USLW perspective that align a little bit better with what we try to do on our end." That included the ears of sponsors pricking up more at the prospect of D1 as opposed to D3.
The club sees viable expansion models from the men's side, most clearly with Minneapolis City. The top of their organizational pyramid would be a USL Super League professional team, with a professional reserve side in the WPSL PRO and a pre-professional team at the USL-W level.
The WPSL has a clause in its membership manual allowing for a two year "pause", which City are going to take advantage of, before re-opening that branch to "provide that level for those players who, are primarily focused more on their college development, and that's probably going to be the end of their competitive soccer careers."
The more teams, the more opportunities women have to play, but more clubs at more levels offers people a better chance of finding their level instead of warming the bench at a higher level.
How can you provide those players with those opportunities to play at a high level? But still be in a pro environment as well. So we think there's a place for both leagues.
Sioux Falls City is riding a wave but, like a well-coached team on the pitch, its shape remains.
I think it can be adaptable, flexible, but as long as you're keeping your core values and your main priorities at the core, then you're okay. You know, it's when you start bending your core values (that problems occur).
It is both a compressed and a fluid timeline, with a hopeful professional presence from South Dakota by 2027. With the Professional League Standards as they currently are written, division 1 women's leagues need 75% of their teams in TV markets of 750,000 - which Sioux Falls is not. Super League's got eight teams, but they have two teams that are underneath that 750,000 so they're right at the 75%.
We're cheering for more big cities to join because even if we were already in 2025 to do that, unless they had another big city join the league to offset another small market club like us coming on board, we couldn't do it.
De May is firm in his resolve that the club expands according to its needs rather than because of a league, with every league a possible destination for their sides. He is however, also insistent that they have an ongoing and healthy relationship with WPSL.
We just think that both leagues have something to offer and we're trying to navigate that the way through that to make it happen and At this point, we felt we needed to make the jump to USLW to do that with clearly stating to WPSL, hey, our intention is not to leave you.
In fact, De May foresees some professional reserve teams in the WPSL PRO.
I think that's a very sustainable path for the league. We envision ourselves taking part in that.
We will be watching. Stay tuned to our coverage.
College Spotlight: Minnesota State v Grand Valley State - NCAA D2 Elite Eight 2024
Minnesota State Mavericks secured their first ever NCAA national semifinal appearance, Ashle Paige brings you a snapshot of the quarterfinal.
The Mavericks face Columbus State, down in North Carolina at 2pm CT tomorrow, streaming on ncaa.com
NISA Independent Cup Update
It took a few months, but Milwaukee Torrent have clarified their stance on the NISA Independent Cup which they won (by default). The default cost the club a game for which tickets had been sold, a sequence which left the club feeling aggrieved and a lingering impression of a mess behind the scenes.
Torrent offered three dates for the final at the club's home pitch of Hart Park in Wauwatosa, WI and NISA were ultimately responsible for the decision to award hosting of the final to Milwaukee but Inter Detroit took the forfeit.
There was active communication between Torrent and Inter with NISA as intermediaries which began with the league asking the Wisconsin club a finite question about the date and location of the final, with an implication that they would be hosting. The league then countered that the date offered (Wednesday July 31st) was unsuitable because of the long road trip, but that the following weekend might work. Torrent had an existing (and long planned) date for the inaugural Wisconsin Cup Final on that Saturday evening and that was repeated when Inter came to the table with a suggested 1pm Saturday kickoff. Only hours after the 1pm kickoff was suggested, Inter withdrew from the competition.
What of their accusations? They claimed that they "were not given a fair opportunity to host". NISA named Torrent hosts as it traveled to Inter for the 2023 tournament. On Torrent's part, they firmly believe that Hart Park was the best venue available.
They added that they were "forced to accommodate" Torrent's schedule, but as outlined above, repeated attempts were made to accommodate the travelling side. There is a complaint of the length of travel, but that appears to be torpedoed by the 1pm kick off suggested above.
Lastly, Inter suggest that 90% of their roster would have left for college, but their situation is mirrored across the amateur soccer landscape, including in Wauwatosa.
Torrent, for what it's worth, lost the Wisconsin Cup Final by a Mally Lumsden goal to Superior City FC.
Sioux Falls shows up strong in WPSL Post Season awards
Sioux Falls City FC had an unbeaten regular season and won a third successive Franchise of the Year award in the Northern Conference. Goalkeeper Cambell Fischer and forward Mia Mullenmeister won defensive and offensive players of the year in the conference. Fischer comes from the Sioux Falls metro and plays at the University of South Dakota. Mullenmeister, from the home of the Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD is playing further afield at Utah State.
They were joined by team mates Jordan Tenpas (From Orange County, California and now playing at Washburn University, having transferred from Minot State) and Katharina Oelschlager (From Nordrhein-Westfalen in Germany and playing at Florida Gulf Coast) as All Region selections.
That XI also sees a hat trick of three-time selections from the University of Minnesota and the Twin Cities metro, in Paige Kalal (MN Thunder), Molly Fiedler and Khyah Harper (Salvo). Notre Dame players Olivia Bohl and Izzy Engle (Both also from the Twin Cities metro and Thunder), Jordyn Jeffers and Avery Murdzek (Both Wisconsinites for St Croix Legacy) round out the selection. Jeffers plays for Ball State and Murdzek plays for South Dakota State.