Women's Soccer 9/30/2026 10:01:00 AM

Women's Soccer Gameday Preview: Falcons go for fourth straight win at home tonight vs. Saint Mary

Photo Credit: Cameron Snodgrass

The Lowdown: University of Saint Mary @ Friends University

Location: Adair-Austin Stadium

Kickoff: Sept. 30 @ 5 PM

Live Stream: https://kcacnetwork.com/friends/

Live Stats: https://naiastats.prestosports.com/sports/wsoc/2026-27/conf/KCAC/boxscores/20260930_jln5.xml

Tickets: https://tickets.friendsathletics.com/section/mens-and-womens-soccer-geww

Flying with the Women's Soccer Falcons (4-2-1, 2-0 KCAC)

The Friends University Falcons come in on a roll with three straight victories, including opening up the KCAC schedule with a 1-0 win at Southwestern College and a 2-1 victory at Kansas Wesleyan University.

The Falcons have got two goals apiece from Kieley Aranda, Anahi Ibarra-Arevalo and Paige Putter, while Francesca Jones and Liset Vallejo have each recorded a team-leading two assists.

Camilla Apple has been stifling in her 270 minutes in the net this season, making 10 saves and ranking tied for first in the KCAC and tied for fourth in the NAIA in both GAA (0.33) and save percentage (.909). Kaitlyn Martinez has also been solid in her 360 minutes at goalkeeper, recording a 1.50 GAA while ranking third in the KCAC in saves (38).

Dish on the Spires (0-7, 0-4 KCAC)

The University of Saint Mary Spires are 0-7 on the season and have dropped all four KCAC matches.

Litzy Mendoza and Yaniela Romanlopez have each scored a goal for the Spires, with Bre'Ella DeMaranville seeing most of the action in the net with a 2.18 GAA and ranking second in the KCAC with 49 saves.

The Series: The Falcons are 16-4-4 vs. the Spires since 2004, with a 9-2-2 mark in Wichita. Friends is 2-1-2 in the last five matchups vs. Saint Mary after winning eight straight in the series from 2014-21.

Top of the League: The Falcons have been well represented in the KCAC weekly honors this year. Friends swept the KCAC Offensive (Anahi Ibarra-Arevalo) and Defensive (Alayna Runck) Player of the Week awards on Sept. 14 before Paige Putter was named the league's top defender on Sept. 22.

The Coaches:

Brent Hobson is in his 13th season leading the Falcons women's soccer team for the 2026 season. After failing to qualify for the NAIA National Tournament for 15 seasons, Hobson has now guided the Falcons to five national appearances in the past seven years. In his 12 seasons at the helm, Hobson has amassed an overall record of 134-81-24.

Last season, the Falcons went 14-4-4 and finished second in the KCAC regular season for the fourth time in the past 11 seasons.

The 2024 season saw the Falcons cross an item off the bucket list, winning their first KCAC tournament championship of the modern-era to clinch another NAIA National Tournament bid. The Falcons' run to the KCAC tourney title included a dramatic penalty kick win over top-seeded Oklahoma Wesleyan University in the semifinal round and a thrilling 1-0 overtime victory over York University in the championship match. The Falcons finished 14-6-2 overall for the program's fourth straight double-digit victory season.

The Falcons recorded a 13-5-4 record in 2023 and their first conference unbeaten season (10-0-3) in the modern era that resulted in a second-place finish in the KCAC and another berth into the NAIA National Tournament.

In 2021, Hobson coached the Falcons to a runner-up regular season finish in the conference and mentored KCAC Freshman of the Year Keily Larosee and the league's top newcomer Elyssa Salazar.

Hobson guided the Falcons to a breakthrough 2019 season, finishing second in the league and advancing to the NAIA National Tournament for the first time in 15 years to earn KCAC Coach of the Year honors. He coached eight All-KCAC performers in 2019, including two-time Goalkeeper of the Year Lauren Ferguson while guiding the team to the conference tournament championship game.

In the 2018 campaign, Hobson led the Falcons to a fourth-place in the KCAC for the second straight season and a home postseason tournament match for the third consecutive year.

He also coached six Falcons to all-conference honors, including KCAC Goalkeeper of the Year Lauren Ferguson.

The Falcons also soared off the pitch under Hobson, with a conference-high 18 student-athletes receiving KCAC Scholar-Athlete honors.

During the 2017 campaign, Hobson guided the squad to a fourth-place conference finish and a KCAC quarterfinal home match, with five Falcons earning all-conference recognition.

Off the pitch, the Falcons placed four student-athletes on the NAIA Scholar-Athlete list while a whopping 10 team members received the KCAC Scholar-Athlete award.

In 2016, the Falcons matched the 11 wins from a year before but improved to an 8-3 record in KCAC play for a third-place finish in the conference standings. Cuda repeated her CoSIDA award and was named the Academic All-America of the Year, the top academic award in all of college sports.

Hobson played all four years at Friends University then was hired on as an assistant coach for the men's and women's soccer teams. During his career, he tallied a total of 33 goals and 21 assists, along with eight game-winning goals. Hobson earned 2nd Team All-KCAC honors his junior year and 1st Team All-KCAC after his senior season. He also received numerous team awards. The Falcons were 24-10-3 in the KCAC and 47-27-5 overall in Hobson's four seasons on the team.

In 2013-2015, Hobson played professionally for the Wichita B-52's in the PASL & MISL Indoor Soccer League.

Hobson received his degree in health management from Friends in 2011. Hobson and his wife, Whitney, live in Wichita.

Justin Seever is in his 15^th season as head coach of the University of Saint Mary women's soccer team. Seever has led the Spires to consecutive top five finishes in the KCAC after a third-place finish in 2023.

Before assuming the head coaching position, Seever had been the top assistant for both the men's and women's teams since 2008.

Seever played collegiately for both Saint Mary and Neosho County CC. At Neosho County, Seever helped the program go from one win as a freshman to a then-school record 10 wins the next season.

Up Next: The Falcons will remain at home and host York University Saturday night (Oct. 3) at 8 pm at Adair-Austin Stadium.

Women's Soccer Falcons by the Numbers:

Overall: 4-2-1

KCAC: 2-0-0

Home: 1-1-0

Away: 2-1-1

Neutral: 1-0-0

Scoring zero goals: 0-1-1

Scoring one goal: 2-1-0

Scoring two goals: 1-0-0

Scoring three goals: 1-0-0

Scoring 4+ goals: 0-0-0