Wayne State's women's soccer team is heading to the NCAA Division II tournament in the only season the program has played. The Warriors finished 12-2-5, won the GLIAC regular-season title at 8-1-5, and open at noon Friday against McKendree in Ashland, Ohio.
Last fall the program had been announced and had not yet played its first season. Head coach Doug Steinard had nine players in the spring and 33 by November, 31 of them from Michigan, ClickOnDetroit reported.
Announced in 2025, On the Field in 2026
The public commitment landed in July 2025, when president Dr. Kimberly Andrews Espy and athletics director Erika Wallace announced the university's first women's soccer program, NCAA.com reported. The board of governors approved a $5.2 million facilities upgrade that included major enhancements to the Wayne State Soccer Complex. Competition began in 2026, which left Steinard a short spring to recruit and one fall to find out what the roster could do.
He looked to area club teams and high schools, and the roster stayed local. Thirty-one of the 33 players are from Michigan. Goalkeeper Kate Helfen has said the original nine did not have enough players to scrimmage. Steinard has described the stretch from that shortage to a conference title as a mix of hardships and rewarding moments. Twenty-four additions later, the group that could not scrimmage is the one packed for an NCAA game.
Dearborn Goals and a Keeper From Troy
Sienna Mroue arrived by changing her mind. The freshman forward from Dearborn had committed to Saginaw Valley State, then switched to Wayne State after learning the university was starting a soccer program. She led the GLIAC in goals and points and ranked second in assists.
The Mining Journal reported that regular-season champion Wayne State swept all six special awards, with Mroue taking Player of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year. She has said the team is close and feels like sisters.
Helfen's path was a transfer and a wait. The Troy High graduate, a redshirt sophomore, came from the University of Cincinnati, where she did not play a game in two years. Wayne State named her GLIAC Goalkeeper of the Year and first-team All-GLIAC. Two seasons without an appearance, then the conference's top goalkeeper award, in a program playing its first fall.
The staff award came with the individual ones. The Mining Journal named Steinard's six-person staff Coaching Staff of the Year. The sweep covered those six special awards, not every all-conference spot. Michigan Tech senior defender Havanah Brockington earned All-GLIAC honorable mention after scoring against Purdue Northwest on Oct. 11 and Parkside on Oct. 25, WZMQ 19 reported. She played 1,071 minutes and took 11 shots, eight on goal.
Five Straight, Then Ferris State
The season opened cleaner than the roster construction. Wayne State won its first five games, including a 1-0 win over Detroit Mercy on Aug. 30. That early result was over another Detroit program, by the same score Ferris State would later use the other way. ClickOnDetroit reported that the Warriors lost one game before securing the regular-season title. Conference play finished 8-1-5. Set against the 12-2-5 overall record, the nonconference portion was four wins, one loss and no ties.
Northern Michigan, in the teams' only meeting, tied Wayne State 1-1 on Sept. 25 in Detroit, the Mining Journal reported.
The conference tournament turned on one goal. Ferris State won 1-0 on Nov. 3, ending Wayne State's GLIAC tournament run. It did not end the season. Social House News reported an at-large bid that placed the Warriors in the NCAA field as the No. 6 seed. Helfen has said the tournament offers a chance to try again and see how far the team goes.
A Sixth Seed Against McKendree
At noon Friday in Ashland, the program will play its first Division II NCAA tournament game. Third-seeded McKendree brings a 16-2-3 record. The Bearcats have the same number of losses as Wayne State and four more wins.
Ashland, the No. 2 seed at 14-3-3, is hosting the sub-regional and is scheduled to face No. 7 Grand Valley State, 11-4-5, at 3 p.m. Friday. Grand Valley puts a second Michigan program on the Ohio card. Wayne State's assignment is McKendree.
NCAA.com says teams advancing to the semifinals will be seeded, and that five undefeated teams remained in Division II women's soccer as the postseason began. The Warriors, at 12-2-5, are not in that group. Their next game is Friday, on the road, against that third seed.
