BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) women’s soccer teams are back on the field for the 2025 season.
Ten MIAC squads are set to begin regular season competition on Friday, August 29, with all 12 scheduled for action on opening weekend and nine MIAC teams hosting at least one game. The 2025 slate of conference games is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, September 16.
At the conclusion of the regular season, the top six teams in the conference standings will advance on to the 2025 MIAC Women's Soccer Playoffs. Quarterfinal contests are scheduled for Monday, November 3, followed by semifinals on Thursday, November 6, and the MIAC Playoff Championship on Saturday, November 8.
The winner of the MIAC Playoffs will receive the conference's automatic bid to the 2025 NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Tournament. The 2025 NCAA Division III Women’s Soccer National Championships are scheduled for December 4-6, 2025, at Kerr Stadium in Salem, Virginia.
The bracket for the national tournament will be unveiled during the Selection Show on Monday, November 10. After the automatic qualifiers have been awarded to conference champions across Division III, the remaining NCAA Tournament qualifiers will be selected “at-large” via the NCAA Power Index (NPI). The Women’s Soccer NPI will calculate winning percentage, strength of schedule, home-away results, and quality wins to rank teams for at-large postseason consideration.
2024 FINAL STANDINGS
St. Catherine (14-3-4, 8-0-3)*#%
Carleton (14-2-7, 8-0-3)*%
Saint Mary’s (14-3-4, 8-1-2)
St. Olaf (14-3-3, 7-2-2)
Augsburg (8-5-5, 4-2-5)
Gustavus (9-5-5, 4-4-3)
Concordia (8-7-1, 4-6-1)
Macalester (6-8-3, 3-6-2)
Bethel (6-7-4, 2-6-3)
Saint Benedict (5-8-3, 2-7-2)
Hamline (5-10-5, 1-7-3)
St. Scholastica (0-15-4, 0-10-1)
*MIAC Regular Season Champion
#MIAC Playoff Champion
%NCAA Championship Participant
RULE CHANGES
The NCAA Men’s and Women’s Soccer Rules Committee and the Playing Rules Oversight Panel updated a pair of rules in advance of the 2025 season to align with IFAB Laws of the Game. Red cards will be eliminated for non-deliberate ball handling in the penalty area that denies a goal or goal-scoring opportunity. Inside the penalty area, red cards will be reserved for deliberate, cynical handling. Penalties will now be assessed for encroachment during a penalty kick only if it has an impact on the result of the attempt.
The NCAA also established its annual points of emphasis for the season, which include coaching and team area decorum, correct player identification for misconduct, and proper implementation of misconduct cards on penalty kicks.
In the MIAC, soccer coaches updated the tiebreaker criteria for playoff seeding and approved a pre-game protocol similar to the NCAA Championship format to ensure clarity and consistency throughout the conference. Each MIAC institution will also utilize a set of three headsets for soccer officials to improve the communication of critical information throughout the game.
MIAC SPORTS NETWORK
The MIAC Sports Network powered by Hudl returns as the streaming home of all MIAC-hosted games, events, and championships. The MIAC Sports Network is available on the web (https://miacsportsnetwork.com/) along with streaming apps for television and mobile devices, including Android TV, Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku (TV), iOS, Android (mobile), and Amazon Fire Tablet. The app can be found and installed free of charge by searching for the MIAC Sports Network.
The 2025 MIAC Women’s Soccer Playoffs will be streamed live on the MIAC Sports Network in a pay-per-view format. Individual playoff contests will be streamed for $10 each. A $25 "playoff pass" to stream all five games will also be available for purchase. Details and information on purchasing pay-per-view access will be made available in advance of the conference playoffs. Access and availability of regular-season match streams will not be impacted by this policy change.
AWARD WATCH
The 2025 MIAC Women’s Soccer All-Conference honors will be voted on by MIAC coaches at the conclusion of the regular season. In addition to a 22-player All-MIAC squad, coaches will also vote on individual awards for the MIAC Offensive, Defensive, Rookie, and Coach of the Year.
Throughout the regular season, the MIAC will recognize top individual performances with the MIAC Women’s Soccer Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week awards. Athlete of the Week awards will begin on Tuesday, September 2, and be announced each Monday following through the end of the regular season. During the week following the MIAC Playoffs, participating coaches will also select an 11-player All-Playoff Team in recognition of outstanding performances throughout the conference tournament.