CANTON, Ohio – Nearly a dozen former Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) student-athletes were in uniform to help the Minnesota Vixen capture the franchise's first Women's Football Alliance (WFA) national championship on Saturday at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio.
The Vixen, the longest-running women's tackle football organization in the United States, defeated the three-time defending WFA champion Pittsburgh Passion, 42-14, to bring a professional football championship back to Minnesota. The title game was nationally televised on ESPN2.
The team’s championship roster featured a strong contingent of former MIAC student-athletes, representing multiple institutions and sports across the conference. Among the former MIAC student-athletes in uniform for the Vixen this season were Augsburg alums Sam Anderson (softball), Kandace Bostic (women’s track & field), and Ashley Waalen (women’s soccer and track & field); Concordia alumnae Solveig Lundberg (softball); former Hamline student-athletes Ellie Biggins (women’s track & field) and Paige Condie (women’s basketball); Macalester’s Dana Gustafson (women’s soccer); Saint Benedict alumnae Bre Berry (women’s hockey); former St. Catherine standout Jackie Radford (women’s basketball), and St. Thomas alum Jess Eppenberger (softball).
The Vixen coaching staff also shares strong ties to the MIAC, as former Augsburg running back and track & field coach Alexander-Paul Ogbeide, former Augsburg team manager Maria Beck, and current Augsburg women’s flag football coach and men’s tackle football assistant coach Michele Braun were all on the sideline as assistants. In addition, five more graduates from MIAC institutions - Meaghan Reinschmidt (Concordia), Michelle Mariscal (Hamline), Caitlin Hill (Saint Benedict), Kenley Johnson (Saint Benedict), and Allyson Klenke Pattain (Saint Benedict - suited up for the national champion Vixen.
The Vixen went 5-1 in regular-season play before defeating the St. Louis Slam, Salt Lake City Wildcats, and Pittsburgh Passion in the playoffs to secure the league title. A pair of former MIAC student-athletes also earned WFA postseason honors, as Jackie Radford was selected a First Team All-American at wide receiver and Kandace Bostick received Second Team All-America recognition at cornerback.