SCOREBOARD

The baseball, softball, men’s and women’s outdoor track and field, and men’s and women’s tennis seasons were not complete at press time and will be included in the next issue. Visit goleafs.net for the latest updates on all the Maple Leaf teams.

MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY

(22ND IN NAIA AND 6TH IN CROSSROADS LEAGUE)

Led by junior Nelson Kemboi (Eldoret, Kenya), the men’s cross country team had a top-25 finish at the NAIA National Championship for the fourth consecutive year. Kemboi finished in 39th place and was named an AllAmerican for the third straight year. The team tied a program record for the highest rating in the polls at #14 and rallied together after the tragic in-season death of teammate Ezra Kipruto (Eldoret, Kenya). Kipruto was a part of the school record set at Louisville for the best time among the team’s top five runners.

WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY

(5TH IN CROSSROADS LEAGUE)

The Maple Leafs were ranked in the NAIA coaches poll for the first time since 2006 this past season. The team had a first-place finish at the IU-Kokomo Invitational and was led by junior Naomi Ross Richer (Goshen), who placed first overall in the race. Ross Richer and junior Summer Cooper (Elkhart, Ind.) had top-20 finishes at the Crossroads League Championships.

MEN’S SOCCER

(2-12-3, 2-6-1 CROSSROADS LEAGUE)

The men’s soccer team slightly improved their conference record compared to last season with wins against Saint Francis and Taylor. Fifth-year Lucas Bontreger (Goshen) had six goals and three assists, and was named All-Crossroads League First-Team for the second year in a row. He finished his GC career with 36 goals and 15 assists in 76 games.

WOMEN’S SOCCER

(5-12-1, 2-7 CROSSROADS LEAGUE)

The women’s soccer team made it to the Crossroads League tournament for the second year in a row in 2022 — the first time they had done that since the 2006 and 2007 seasons. A highlight of the season was a 6-0 win for the Maple Leafs against West Virginia Tech, in which six different players scored in the same game for the first time in a decade. Sophomore defender Karítas Arnardóttir (Reykjavík, Iceland) was named All-Crossroads League Honorable Mention and played a massive role in four shutout wins for Goshen.

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL

(2-31, 0-18 CROSSROADS LEAGUE)

Five women’s volleyball players earned postseason honors from the Crossroads League — sophomore Jaelyn Amhdar (Richmond, Mich.), sophomore Sadie Brenneman (Goshen), firstyear Kassidy Faler (Pioneer, Ohio), sophomore Emily Lynch (Plainfield, Ind.) and Sydney Stutsman (Goshen). Lynch and Brenneman led the offensive attack with 250+ kills each and Stutsman had over 600 assists.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

(3-25, 1-17 CROSSROADS LEAGUE)

First-year Kaden Johnson (Hartford, Mich.) was fifth in the Crossroads League in rebounds per game and was named Honorable Mention AllCrossroads League. Redshirt sophomore Elias Ramirez (Bay City, Mich.) led the team in scoring and made 78 threepointers. During a conference win against Taylor, the Leafs had their most rebounds in a regulation conference game since 2017 against Huntington.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

(7-21, 2-16 CROSSROADS LEAGUE)

During a 30-point road win at Huntington, Goshen allowed just 42 points to the Foresters — the fewest they have allowed in a conference road game since 2004. Junior Zion Neat (Austin, Texas) was an Honorable Mention All-Crossroads League selection. The transfer was fifth in the conference in free throw percentage and seventh in points per 40 minutes.

MEN’S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD

(T-54TH IN NAIA AND 10TH IN CROSSROADS LEAGUE)

Compared to just two participants last season, Goshen had six representatives at the NAIA National Championships this year. Junior Nelson Kemboi (Eldoret, Kenya) was an All-American for his school-record performance in the 3000-meters and was All-Crossroads League in the event at the league meet. Sophomore Jordan Garlinger (Decatur, Ind.), first-year Anthony Roberts

(Elkhart, Ind.), sophomore Kevin Liddell (South Bend, Ind.) and first-year Drew Hogan (Goshen) made up the 4x800meter relay team that broke their own school record in the national semifinals.

Junior Samuel Stoner-Eby (Lancaster, Pa.) competed with Garlinger, Hogan and Roberts in the distance medley relay.

WOMEN’S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD

(8TH IN CROSSROADS LEAGUE)

Junior Mia Wellington (Goshen), junior Summer Cooper (Elkhart, Ind.), junior Maria Maldonado (Goshen) and first-year Mercy Chebet (Nakuru, Kenya) broke their distance medley relay school record twice at the NAIA National Championships — once in the semifinals and then again in the finals. Cooper was one spot away from All-American status in the women’s mile final and also competed in the 3000-meter run semifinals. First-year Mady Axsom (Elkhart, Ind.) and first-year Britney Ortega (Goshen) also competed for Goshen at the national meet. Five Maple Leafs made the All-Crossroads League team.

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL

(9-12, 7-11 WOLVERINE-HOOSIER ATHLETIC CONFERENCE)

Junior transfer Hasan Hadzic (Kakanj, Bosnia and Herzegovina) made a significant impact in his first season at Goshen, being named the WHAC Newcomer of the Year. He was also First Team All-Conference, a two-time WHAC Attacker of the Week, and once the WHAC Defender of the Week. First-year Ishmail Bangura (Freetown, Sierra Leone) was named First Team AllConference and All-Freshman Team and was also the WHAC Attacker of the Week once. The Leafs ended the season by winning five of their seven final matches.

Bowling added as newest sport and coach hired

For the 2024-25 academic year, Goshen will become the eighth Crossroads League school to add bowling as a sport. The home venue for the 15th and 16th teams at GC will be Maple City Bowl in Goshen. Scott Curtis will serve as head coach, directing the men’s and women’s teams. Curtis founded the Reese (Michigan) High School bowling team and led them from 2010 to 2020. He also brings experience at the NAIA level after leading the men’s and women’s programs at Aquinas College.

Jeff Phillips to lead women’s volleyball program

Jeff Phillips was named the 12th head women’s volleyball coach at Goshen College, as announced by Director of Athletics Dr. Erica Albertin on February 13. Phillips most recently served as the head girl’s volleyball coach at Wawasee High School in Syracuse, Indiana, leading them to a 146-119 record from 2011 to 2015 and then from 2019 to 2022. He was an assistant coach at Warsaw High School from 2008 to 2010 and Tippecanoe Valley High School from 2007 to 2008.