OTTUMWA, IA – Following a season that saw Indian Hills Women’s Soccer make its first-ever appearance in the NJCAA Division I National Tournament, the Warriors received another accolade as freshman Bailey Wiemann was named to the Junior College All-American team released by the United Soccer Coaches.
The USC All-American squad is comprised of student-athletes across all three divisions of the NJCAA (D-I, D-II & DII) and included just 26 players across the sport nationwide. Wiemann was just one of eleven forwards named to the exclusive team that also included nine midfielders and six defenders.
“This was a very well-deserved honor for Bailey,” said IHCC Head Coach Anthony Longo. “She had a fantastic first year for us and in almost every game was the most dangerous player on the field offensively.”
Wiemann becomes just the third Warrior women’s player to earn All-American status, joining Laura Hallissey (NJCAA Honorable Mention – 2017) and two-time honoree Emily Murphy (NJCAA Honorable Mention – 2017, NJCAA 2nd Team – 2018).
A native of Burlington, Wiemann made her presence known from the beginning of the season as the freshman scored a goal for the Warriors in each of her first three contests, and in four of the first five games, in helping IHCC jump out to a 7-0-1 start after eight contests this spring.
“Bailey has a great pace and is an unselfish player,” Longo added. “She scores when needed and provides plenty of assists for her teammates around her. Bailey grew a lot as the season went on, and shouldered a lot of the responsibility for us offensively.”
The highlight of her freshman season offensively came in the opening round of Region XI postseason play when Wiemann found the back of the net four times in a 5-1 win over Iowa Central at IHCC Field.
Wiemann would finish her freshman season with a team-leading 11 goals as well as a team-best 10 assists in a season where the Warriors earned their highest national ranking in program history (11th).
Indian Hills finished as Region XI runner-up after a 1-0 road loss in Council Bluffs against rival Iowa Western in the Region Championship contest. The Reivers would go on to secure the automatic bid to the National Tournament from the Great Lakes District while IHCC earned an at large bid to Nationals where the Warriors would go 1-1 in pool play in Evans, Georgia before being eliminated by eventual National Champion, Tyler (TX). Indian Hills finished the season with an 12-3-1 overall record.
“With a great year under her belt, I expect Bailey to be our most effective player next year, and lead the team offensively again,” Longo said. “I’m really looking forward to seeing her keep improving and continuing to keep Indian Hills on a winning track.”
With the 2020 season being pushed back to the spring of 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Warriors are now just under two months from their season-opener for the 2021 slate, as IHCC opens on August 21 in Union, Missouri against the East Central College Falcons.