After finishing with a record of 8-6-4 , the Spartan women’s soccer team is eager to see what the future holds.
As the season came to an end, the team had to say goodbye to senior captain and defender Mary Kathryn Fiebernitz..
Despite her departure from Spartan soccer, Fiebernitz plans to continue a career in soccer.
“The plan is to take two weeks off to disconnect mentally and physically to give my body a rest,” Fiebernitz said. “Then I will start training to pursue a professional experience or career at the next level.”
As the first player in the history of Spartan soccer to be on the All-Big Ten team for three consecutive years, Fiebernitz will be highly missed by coaches and fellow teammates.
“She is one of the finest players I have ever coached here,” MSU women’s soccer head coach Tom Saxton said. “She is a rare player to Big Ten women’s soccer and certainly Michigan State’s long history as a three-time Big Ten player.”
Despite the loss of Fiebernitz, Saxton believes to have found new impact players, freshman midfielder / defender Michaela Kovacs and freshman midfielder / defender Lexy Warner.
“Both players have a lot of skills we would like to build off in the future,” Saxton said.
Warner, who led the Spartans with 10 points and was tied for first on the team with four assists, received recognition as she was named to the All-Freshmen Big Ten team as a forward.
“Lexy and Michaela recognize that there will be a responsibility for all the underclassmen to step up to fill the spot that Mary vacated as well as the other senior leaders leaving this year,” Saxton said.
Warner also emphasizes the impact Fiebernitz’s departure has on the team’s future success.
“Mary was a great part of the program and made a big impact on our team,” Warner said. “She taught every player on this team new things every day.”
Warner also speaks highly of fellow freshmen teammate Kovacs, who started all 18 games this season.
“Her dedication and tenacity in the middle of the field drives everyone to follow her lead during the game,” Warner said.
Fiebernitz believes that Warner, alongside sophomore forward Jamie Cheslik, will lead the team in offense next year.
“From having such a great freshman year, I believe Lexy will come in with a lot of fire next year and continue the power that we have established up top as far as scoring goals,” Fiebernitz said. “The combination between Jamie and Lexy means they have nothing to worry about next year — it’s only going up.”
For now, Fiebernitz is preparing for the draft in January and continues to make connections with clubs to achieve her goal of being in the professional soccer league.
