McGill awarded MIAC Coach of the Year

For the third time, St. Thomas women’s soccer coach Sheila McGill won MIAC Coach of the Year. McGill coached the team to the NCAA Division III Elite Eight, where they lost to Carnegie Mellon University in a shootout, ending with a 17-2-5 record.

While several players expressed uncertainty of how successful this year could be after losing many senior starters, McGill stayed confident in her group.

“I never once thought this was a rebuilding year,” McGill said. “I thought it was a redefining year.”

When the team experienced several mid-season losses and ties, McGill said they moved forward by building trust.

“We had to learn to fight through some of those moments,” McGill said. “And we fought. Hard. But we also realized that when we do it, we can come out of it together.”

Tommies take over all-MIAC team

The 2019 all-MIAC teams included seven Tommies.

Junior forward Tessa Trettel and junior midfielders Ellie Eskierka, Paige Cater and Kate Heimer made the all-conference team.

Junior goalkeeper Sarah Pasternak and senior midfielder Elizabeth Luotto made honorable mention. In September, Pasternak was named United Soccer Coaches Division III National Player of the Week.

Sophomore defender Alexa Oldenkamp was selected for the MIAC sportsmanship team.

According to McGill, the number of players who were awarded reflects the team effort in every game.

“We all on this team contribute so much,” Eskierka said. “It’s not about one specific or two specific people that we can rely on as a team.”

It all comes back to trust.

“I noticed it most at the ends of games, which we’ve been in a lot,” Luotto said. “I think it’s just the ability that we have to never give up on each other. We know that, we’ve proved it three times this season, even in the last minute of the game we’ll still fight for each other.”

Heimer contributed,“I’ve had experiences where I’ve seen Tessa (Trettel) make one last-ditch run up the field for 20 seconds left in the game,” Heimer said. “I’m like, ‘Okay, if she’s going, I’m going with her.’”

Balfour and Heimer named to academic all-district, all-America teams

Heimer and sophomore defender Alex Balfour were two of 11 selected to the CoSIDA NCAA Division III District Six Academic All-District team, which is selected between Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Although Balfour and Heimer both expressed that their coaches never need to mention academic standards, McGill has never had an academically ineligible player.

The two were also named United Soccer Coaches First Team All-Region and Third Team All-America. Cater and Trettel made the second team.

Mia Laube can be reached at mia.laube@stthomas.edu.