Program-best seven Pride women's soccer players named All-Heart for 2024
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - In arguably the best season in Clarke University women's soccer program history, seven members of the Pride were named to All Heart of America Athletic Conference teams, conference officials announced on Tuesday afternoon.
CU had a pair of seniors selected to the All-Heart First Team as midfielder Morgan Catchur and defender Hope Ward earned their third-straight All-Conference honor while the remaining five selections all reach All-Conference status for the first time in their career with Bailey Wiemann and Morgan Lock earning Second Team honors then Juanita Tibocha, Jayden Black, and Faith Krapfl were all selected to the Third Team.
Catchur, a senior from Valparaiso, Ind. and the most recent Heart Offensive Player of the Week, started in all 18 games and has played both a defensive and attacking midfield position during the year and even moved up as high as striker for the Pride to finish the 2024 regular season with a career-high five goals and a career-high tying five assists. Four of her five goals came as game winners including three in the second half, most recently in the regular season finale on the road at Grand View and most notably in the 80th minute of CU's Senior Day win over Graceland to break a 0-0 tie. This third-straight year as an All-Heart selection finishes a three-year climb that saw Catchur earn Third Team All-Heart in her sophomore season of 2022 then finishing as a Second Team All-Heart honoree last season as a junior.
Ward, a senior from Burlington, Iowa, also climbed over the last three years like Catchur from a Third Team All-Heart selection in her first season at Clarke in 2022 to a Second Team All-Heart selection last year to her first career First Team selection as one of two starting center backs anchoring the Pride defensive unit. Despite her defensive position, Ward is also an offensive threat for CU, scoring two goals this season, most notably a game-winning goal in the late stages of a 1-0 win over Baker University on a header from a corner kick, her specialty, as she's also added an assist and was the last member of the Pride to get her foot to the game-tying goal last Thursday against Grand View as her free kick was deflected into the Vikings net on an own goal.
Lock, a junior from Racine, Wis., earns All-Heart Second Team as Ward's center back partner this season in her first year starting in every game the Pride have played after not seeing any action as a freshman and starting in seven of the team's 19 games in 2023. Lock has helped stabilize the back line, using her speed and skill on the ball to prevent attacks while also pushing the ball forward to finish with a goal and an assist on the season, scoring her first career goal on Oct. 2 at Culver-Stockton and recording her assist on Sept. 18 at William Penn.
Tibocha, a senior from Bogotà, Colombia, played as an outside defender for the last two seasons, playing in all 37 games and starting all but one at Clarke since transferring in from Paris Junior College to earn All-Heart Third Team. Tibocha has been able to push forward to create offense and prevent opponents' attack from her side of the field as consistently one of the most traveled players in terms of milage ran on the team and scored the first goal of her career on Oct. 8 in a 3-0 win over William Woods.
Krapfl, a junior from Peosta, Iowa, grabbed hold of the starting goalkeeper position to start all 18 games in net for the Pride to earn Heart Defensive Player of the Week twice on Sept. 23 and Sept. 30 as she went on to allow only 11 goals for a 0.63 goals against average, the second-best mark in program history, and made 48 saves for an .814 save percentage, also the second best mark in program history. Her 12 wins ties the program record for goalie wins and her nine individual shutouts with a 10th combined shutout sets a new single season record for shutouts in a season by a Clarke goalkeeper.
The Clarke defense as a whole finished the regular season tied for 17th in the NAIA in total goals allowed with those 11 goals against for a 15th-best 0.61 goals against average in the nation while those 10 shutouts rank tied for 11th in the NAIA as all of those marks rank the best in the Heart Conference.
Wiemann, a senior from Burlington, Iowa, earns All-Heart Second Team playing mostly right wing after building off of a strong supporting offensive first year at Clarke in the 2023 campaign to lead the Pride in goals with nine and points with 21 as she recorded at least one point in eight of the team's 18 games with goals in six games while having two multi-goal games, including a hat trick in their Homecoming matchup against MidAmerica Nazarene in a 3-1 win over the Pioneers on Sept. 27.
Black, a freshman from Torrance, Calif., played the left wing opposite of Wiemann to finish second on the team in goals with six and points with 18 while leading the team with six assists in her first year with the Pride. Black produced at least a point in eight games while finding the scoresheet multiple times in a game four different times, including a two-goal game at Culver-Stockton that included the her lone game-winning goal of the season.
Full Heart Release: https://heartofamericaconference.com/sports/wsoc/2024-25/releases/20241105ntwenl
Clarke women's soccer will be in action to kick off the Heart Tournament tonight when they host a rematch against MNU at Burrows Field for the No. 4 vs. No. 5 quarterfinal matchup starting at 7:00 p.m. CT in Dubuque.