Ottawa University Women's Soccer
1996 - Present

The Women's Soccer Program started at Ottawa University in 1996. The first coach for the Women was Mike Cullina. With 13 players in the inaugural season, the Braves went 6-9-0 in 1996. The first win in the history of the Women's program was a 3-1 victory over KCAC Conference rival McPherson College. In 1997, Cullina guided the Lady Braves to their first winning season with a 7-5-1 record.

1998 saw a change in coaches and an increase in the amount of games that would be played during the season. Tony Carbaugh had the Braves playing a full 18 game schedule, finishing the regular season at 8-10-0. Carbaugh remained with the team in 1999, finished the season at 4-13-0 overall.

In 2000, yet another coach took over the reigns at OU. Matt Walberg, a former player on the Men's team at OU in the 1980's, guided the 2000 team to a 10-7-0 record and the second winning season in five years. In 2001, the Braves struggled out of conference, yet in the KCAC lost only one match and were crowned Regular Season Co-Champions. This was the first KCAC Championship in the OU Women's Soccer History. Overall, the Braves finished 8-12-0 in 2001.

2002 saw the Women's program get another coach - the fourth in seven years. Chip Wiggins took over in August of 2002. With no time to recruit, Coach Wiggins got through the season with a strong core of returners. The Braves won the KCAC Tournament championship and advanced to the Region IV tournament for the first time in school history. The Braves fell to nationally ranked Newman University in the first round and finished the season 10-11-1 overall.

2003 saw Coach Wiggins first recruiting class, which increased numbers to 24 players, by far the most for any team since the program was started. The Braves started strong winning 8 of their first 10 matches. They were crowned Regular season KCAC champions and KCAC Tournament champions. The Lady Braves took an 11 match unbeaten streak into the Region IV Quarterfinal vs. Park University. Park won the match 4-3 in overtime, ending the Braves season at 16-3-2. A disappointing ending to a great season, but the Lady Braves did set 8 school records along the way. Rosa Johnston earned first team All-KCAC honors. Amber McGinnis, Nicki Luckin and Larissa Brown all earned second team honors adn Jamie Francis was an honorable mention All-KCAC selction for the Lady Braves.

The 2004 season saw another strong recruiting effort. The Braves started the season by winning their first 7 matches. The Braves stumbled at home vs. Baker, but got back on track winning their next 11 matches before losing to Park University in the Region IV Semifinal. The Braves were once again Regular Season KCAC Champions and KCAC Tournament Champions. The 2004 team is the first in school history to win a Region IV match, the Braves defeated Dana College 2-1 in a Quarterfinal in Ottawa. The 2004 team finished the season 18-2.

The Lady Braves saw another new coach in 2005, Glenn Cahill took over the reigns of the program. He had been the men's soccer coach at Ottawa High School. The women continued their winning ways with an overall record fo 12-6 and a KCAC record of 9-0. OU qualified for its fourth consecutive Region IV tournament and won its fourth KCAC regular season championship in five years. The Lady Braves played Bellevue College in the Region IV Tournament. OU earned its highest ranking in the region with a #2 seed. It was a close game with Bellevue upending OU 2-1. Erica DeSantiago earned first team All-KCAC honors along with Michele Chapman. Rebecca Germain, Erin Carl and Anni Quarando earned second team honors and goalkeeper Stephanie Henderson was an honorable mention All-KCAC selection. DeSantiago and Chapman were both first team Region IV selections and earned the schools first ever All-American honors when both of them received NAIA Honorable Mention All-American.

The 2006 season was one of disapointment as the Lady Braves struggled in the non-conference going 0-11. In KCAC play the girls came together and had a 5-4 record. Erin Carl, Erin Prudence, Anni Quarando and Jara Vance were all selected honorable mention All-KCAC.