She has started in eight of the 10 games she has played. Despite being a defender, she also currently is the team’s leading scorer, with four goals. Two of her goals have come from headers on corner kicks, a skill head coach Tom Saxton said has been a key strategy this year.

“She’s one of the best players in the air in the history of this program, and she’s only in her second year of playing,” Saxton said. “That is not something you see across women’s soccer, and when you have somebody like her, that can be a very special weapon.”

Fiebernitz played in 18 of MSU’s 19 games last season, and this year, she has seen a much bigger role in the team’s strategy.

She said her mindset is similar to that of a hockey player but on the soccer pitch and added her strategy is winning 50-50 balls on both defense and offense by knocking players off the ball.

“It’s kind of like in hockey being an enforcer,” Fiebernitz said. “It can pump the team up, and it can also show the other team, like listen, we’re not messing around.”

For associate head coach Tammy Farnum, many players can own the ground game with their feet or the mind game, but having the ability to be that air warrior like Fiebernitz is just as important.

“The people that have the ability to own the air, like Mary does, who simply owns it, that’s another element, you can’t coach, you can’t recruit, you can’t scout against, you just have to prepare for it,” Farnum said. “Mary embraces that, she wears her heart on her sleeve.

“It’s a very dangerous game at times, but Mary has the mentality that that’s her ball and she’s going to put the ball in the back of the net, and that’s what makes her special.”