By Cal Lutheran News(ROANOKE, Va. — Dec. 2, 2023) Cal Lutheran women’s soccer is the NCAA 2023 Division III National Champion.
After a historic regular season, the Regals (19-1-6) defeated No. 2-ranked Washington University (17-2-4) 1-0 to take home the first national title in program history.
Isabella Veljacic was the Most Outstanding Offensive Player, Eden Quiroz was the Most Outstanding Defensive Player, and Brynn McMahon and Kelsey Slaugh joined them on the All-Tournament Team.
The unranked Regals made history by being the first unranked to make the final, let alone win the championship. They also became the first SCIAC team to take home the title. With their 19 wins, the Regals now have the second-most wins in program history.
Veljacic’s goal in the 17th minute was the match’s defining moment. The grad student capped off her illustrious career at Cal Lutheran by scoring her 10th goal on the biggest stage of the season. Slaugh was in goal and made three saves to give the Regals their 15th shutout this season.
The Regals showed grit, perseverance and trust while being without SCIAC Defensive Player of the Year and First Team All-West region Selection Avery West and All-SCIAC Second Team members Adriana Maroney and Savana Durr, who were injured in the semifinal game.
The squad came together for a complete team win. Twenty Regals saw playing time with Madie Fahey, Ally Fisicaro, McMahon and Slaugh playing the full 90 minutes. Also seeing action were Durr for seven minutes, Anna Evenson, Hannah Gamez, Elisa Shott, Caitlyn Winter, Elena Baltazar, Maya Blodgett, Ashley Escamilla, Ryan Kaneko, Alyssa Moran, Kari Orr, Sophia Saiki, Hana Sawan and Mia Spellman.
In the playoffs, Quiroz led the Regals with three goals, Veljacic was next with two, and West, Blodgett and Escamilla all had one. Slaugh had a 6-0 record throughout the tournament, recording 18 saves while only allowing four goals. See a recap of the game and the press conference that followed at CLUsports.com.
