Jon Sandoval’s team reached NCAA Tournament last season
MARQUETTE, Mich. – After a 2023 campaign that saw the Wildcats claim the GLIAC Regular Season title, GLIAC Tournament title, and host an opening round of the NCAA Tournament, the Wildcats have been picked to repeat as conference champions ahead of the 2024 season.
The Wildcats posted the best season in NMU women’s soccer history under head coach Jon Sandoval in 2023, where Sandoval was named conference coach of the year and the team set records in single-season wins, fewest losses in a season, and highest winning percentage in a season. Sandoval has led the Wildcats to four straight winning seasons with an overall record of 48-17-11, a conference record of 31-8-10 in that time, and has turned the pitch at Marquette into a major home-team advantage, where the team is 28-2-7 in his tenure.
“One thing our team has become a custom to is facing teams on their best day,” says head coach Sandoval. “Over the last few years we’ve been nationally ranked and in very good positions, and when you do those things, every team wants to knock you off. We want to continue to prove teams wrong.”
Sandoval’s staff for 2024 includes first-year assistant coach Natalie Stampfly, a 2022 graduate of NMU and five-year letterwinner and two-year captain of the NMU soccer team from 2018-2022. Stampfly spent the 2023 season as a graduate assistant for the women’s soccer team at Georgie College & State University.
Along with Stampfly, Haley Viitala continues as a volunteer assistant coach, Vince Rodkey enters year two of his duties as soccer data analyst, and Bryce Beckley joins as a graduate assistant goalkeeper coach.
“I’m super excited for the staff; Natalie, Bryce, and Haley, thats three alumni right there, and when you have alumni on your staff, they automatically come in with this dedication, commitment, and love from the program, and I’ve noticed that from Natalie right away. She’s hit the ground running, her communication style will fit well with our players, and I think she brings a lot of knowledge.”
The Wildcats boast a handful of key returners, including All-American’s Molly Pistorius and Maria Storm, and All-District selection Brooke Pietila. Pistorius and Storm return as reigning GLIAC offensive and defensive players of the year, and Pietila was a first-team all-conference selection. NMU also returns second-team selections Stephanie Trujillo and breakout goalkeeper Jillian Thompson, who led the nation in shutouts last season, along with GLIAC honorable mention forward Hannah Kastamo.
“Coming into a program that was rising when I was a freshman and continuing to rise, I’d say last year was a great year for us, but coming into preseason nothing really matters anymore,” says Pistorius. “I think this team can’t get complacent, and we need to continue to stay strong.”
“Last year we had so much success because we trained hard from August through November,” says Pietila. “Each year we think of goals to accomplish, and it seems like each year we keep building upon those goals.”
Along with 13 seniors and 20 total upperclassmen, the Wildcats introduce nine freshmen into the fold for 2024; a group that Sandoval says will be getting a unique experience.
“Any time you come in during this type of situation, you have this opportunity to learn from a group that won a conference championship and got us to the national tournament. We’re excited to see these players come in and hopefully be impactful right away, but also understand the challenge that they have because of the amount of All-American, All-Region, and All-Conference returners we have. I see that as a massive opportunity for these young players to come in and learn from the players that have gone through this.”
The Wildcats open 2024 with a pre-season exhibition against Lewis in Marquette on Saturday, August 24, at 1 PM. Regular season kicks off in Duluth, Minnesota on September 5, and the first home match is slated for Grand Valley State on Friday, September 20, at 3 PM.
