Despite a heartbreaking loss in double overtime to UW-Stevens Point in the first round of the WIAC tournament, a loss that ended their season, UW-Whitewater women’s soccer is as optimistic about their future as ever.
“I’m very excited for the upcoming months and preparation for next season,” head coach Dan Montanye said. “We saw a lot of growth within this group and within the last couple months of our fall season.”
Headed into the start of the 2025 season, there was an acclimation period that was expected. The majority of the team were freshman and sophomores, with just six total upperclassmen and one of those upperclassmen, senior forward Summer Curtis, was a transfer.
For the first few weeks of the season the Warhawks would evenly distribute wins, losses and ties. They hit rock bottom between Sept. 24 and Oct. 11, going 0-3-2 and opening up conference play with two straight losses and then a tie against Stevens Point. Then something clicked. UW-W rattled off three straight WIAC victories over UW-Eau Claire, UW-Oshkosh and UW-Stout. Despite the struggles, the Warhawks never gave up, kept working hard and played for one another.
‘The key moment for us was scoring that game-tying goal against Stevens Point,” Montanye said. “It brought a lot of belief to the group and reassured them that everything that they were doing were the right things and they will reap the rewards.”
The victory against Stout would be Whitewater’s last of the season as they would drop the regular season finale against UW-La Crosse, who would become the regular season WIAC champions and go on to win the WIAC tournament. The Warhawks would then travel to Stevens Point for the first round of the WIAC tournament and fall to the Pointers in double overtime, 2-1.
Despite a short stint, any postseason experience for a young team is critical for their development. It allows the players to experience the intensity of a playoff game and better understand the level of play that’s required to advance into the postseason.
“This was invaluable. Looking towards next season this was probably one of the most important things that happened to us,” Montanye said. “Ultimately our goal is to go beyond where we did this year. In order to do that, this experience will help the team grow, build and understand what it takes to get that job done.”
For the first time since the 2022 season UW-Whitewater finished with a winning record. They went 8-7-5 and used the late season momentum to finish tied for second in the WIAC.
“We did a really nice job executing some of those key moments down the stretch,” Montanye said. “We did a lot of the right things in the build-up, but the final piece was missing. As the season wore on those pieces started to fall into place.”
One of the challenges early on for the Warhawks, like any other young team, was communication. The players needed to learn how to effectively communicate with one another so they could start to play as a complete unit. However, by season’s end, the communication was flawless.
“Towards the end of the season, you could definitely tell that they got more comfortable with each other,” Montanye said. “The communication levels improved and were more effective, especially out on the field.”
Communication can affect both offense and defense. However, the Warhawks excelled defensively, allowing just 1.25 goals per game and nine shots per game. The defense played organized, with focus and with determination. A large part of their success stems from the three-person rotation of goalies. Jude Dobrinska, Kara Smith and Hannah Wolf shared time as the goalkeeper. Dobrinska led the team in saves with 29, while Smith led in playing time and Wolf led in save percentage (79%).
“They have a lot to offer,” Montanye said. “All three of them brought a different dimension to the team in a positive way and we were just trying to get the most out of that group.”
Offensively the Warhawks scored 1.55 goals per game and had 14.6 shots per game. They would outscore their opponents this season 31-25. UW-W played with control, finding various scoring opportunities through the flow of play or from set pieces.
Curtis, who transferred from Division I Belmont University, led the team in goals with seven. Sophomore forward Brooklynn Carlson was second with six goals scored and freshman forward/midfielder Rowan Severson scored three goals. While Curtis brought the experience, Carlson and Severson brought the energy.
“Summer’s experience was something that we leaned on. She was able to guide some of those younger players who haven’t been through the rigors of a full season,” Montanye said. “The freshmen came in and brought good energy right away. As the season went on they found themselves in positions where they were more comfortable and were able to impact the game more.”
One freshman to keep an eye on going forward is midfielder Karina Osborn. As the season progressed she started to get more playing time and opportunities to start. While Osborn’s stats may not jump off of the page, with just two goals scored and one assist, she continuously brought the energy and boosted team morale throughout the season.
“Early on in the season I wasn’t playing as much, so I’d be on the bench hyping everyone up,” Osborn said. “Matching our intensity in practices helped get us to where we needed to be when it was time for kickoff.”
Growing up Osborn attended the soccer camps hosted at UW-Whitewater and noticed the team chemistry that the program had. It was a big reason why she chose to come to the university, and it’s been an emphasis of hers to continue to uphold that team chemistry. It is that same chemistry that allowed the team to flourish at the end of the season.
“The strength of the team is the way we could connect together and work off of each other,” Osborn said. “That’s when we worked best. It was when we were just connecting and playing our game.”
When Osborn did play this season, she made sure to make her presence felt. Playing in the midfield, Osborn went against girls that were faster than her so she decided to be more physical than them. Osborn focused on finding ways to get passes to the forwards and connecting the back line with the front line.
One of the highlights for Osborn comes in UW-Whitewater’s matchup against UW-Oshkosh. With less than ten minutes to go, Osborn received a pass from sophomore forward Kalee Fricke and booted it in from roughly 35 yards out.
“To score in a conference game where we’re tied one to one and with ten minutes to go is so cool for me,” Osborn said. “It was a great way to have my first conference goal.”
Going into this offseason Osborn is focused on building up her speed to complement her physicality. She’s emphasizing the capability to help the Warhawks prevent as many goals as possible while being able to contribute a few goals offensively. While the loss against Stevens Point will hurt for a while, it lit a spark that she and the Warhawks will utilize going forward.
“Being in those tough moments, I think it’s going to light a fire under us,” Osborn said. “Everyone wants it just that much more. They want to come back stronger next year.”
Another up and coming player to watch is Rowan Severson. Severson is a redshirt freshman, transferring from the University of Illinois Springfield due to not receiving much playing time her freshman year. A big factor in drawing Severson to UW-W is head coach Dan Montanye. The playing style Montanye employs as well as how he motivates players really appealed to Severson.
“You can tell [Montanye] really cares and he’s very passionate. He’s had a ton of experience,” Severson said. “I think that’s really important to have a coach who cares just as much as we do.”
While Severson didn’t see much playing time at her previous college, she came into Whitewater and started 17 out of the 20 games the team played. Severson isn’t taking these opportunities for granted and the memory of not being able to be out there with her team is still fresh in her mind.
“I don’t take anything for granted. Whether I get five minutes or 60 minutes,” Severson said. “For me it’s like ‘Rowan, you didn’t get anything. You didn’t get a chance.’ And I’m being given a chance now.”
One thing that Severson noticed early on is how drastic the difference of the level of competition is. In high school you’ll play against opponents of various skill levels. In collegiate athletics, you always have to bring your ‘A’ game. Despite the tougher competition, Severson was third on the team in goals scored, with three.
“I’m really good at reading the game and I’m very technical,” Severson said. “I can find ways to be creative during the game and that’s where playing at Whitewater has benefited me.”
A highlight of Severson’s freshman season came early on, in the team’s fifth game of the season, against Carthage college. The game was a defensive battle, with neither team being able to score. And yet, with less than ten minutes left in regulation, Severson saw an opportunity and took advantage of it. She kicked what would become the game-winning goal to put the Warhawks up 1-0 with eight minutes to play. This very goal was actually Severson’s first goal collegiately.
“I felt such a relief,” Severson said. “Like, this is what I’ve been dreaming of. I’ve been waiting for this moment.”
Despite suffering the heartbreaking loss to Stevens Point, Severson got right back to work, whether that was going to the gym to continue getting stronger or getting out to the soccer pitch to develop her technical skills. She has her eyes set on avenging some of the conference losses the team had this year and building off of the team’s first winning record in a few seasons.
The 2025 season was a year of growth for UW-Whitewater. They were a young team that learned what it takes to compete at a high level. The Warhawks finished the year with a winning record and in the top half of the WIAC. With that growth though, the standard has been raised. Going into the 2026 season the program has a bucket list: win the WIAC conference, earn a NCAA tournament bid, host NCAA tournament games and make a run for the national title. In order to achieve their goals, the Warhawks have to continue to improve. The good news is they’re already hard at work.
“We just have to keep getting better every single day. Every day is an opportunity, one that we need to take advantage of,” Montanye said. “We’re going to continue putting in the work now to reap the rewards next season.”
