As the final whistle blew for 2024 regular season for Winona State University, the Women’s soccer team closed out the season strong, doubling their win total from the previous season. Yet they found themselves on the outside looking in towards the NSIC tournament. One player who made an impression across the NSIC was Faith Quinn, a first-year midfielder and forward for the Warriors. People who do not live near the area might not know, but she has been making a name for herself in Winona for a while.
Quinn played for Winona Senior High School and had a very successful high school career for her hometown team. She achieved all-Big 9 Conference honors twice as well as All-State honors during her high school career. Her accomplishments were accompanied by team success, leading her high school to the 2023 Minnesota High School Women’s Soccer State Tournament for Class AA. The team finished fourth overall in the state. After achieving success in her high school career, she figured to stay close to home when deciding on advancing her soccer career.
Quinn would go on to choose Winona State as her next destination, joining Head Coach Delaney Marier, who was in her first year in that role for the Warriors. She made her appearance in front of her hometown as the Warriors took on the University of Wisconsin-Parkside Rangers in the first home match of the season. She played ten minutes as a sub for this game, but that would be just the beginning of her rise towards forging a bigger role for this team.
Quinn talked about the impact living in her hometown meant to her,
“We’ve been through so much together so being able to support each other in the same town means the world. I am so grateful that I have been given the opportunity to continue to represent my hometown wherever we are playing.”
Another notable game for her would be another home match against Northern State University later that month, as she would play the most second minutes in a match for the entire season with seventy-six minutes for the ninety-minute contest. She earned an assist and a point in a 2-1 victory over the Wolves. This appearance was a sign of things to come for Quinn, as she will be a mainstay in the Warriors lineup throughout the rest of the season.
Quinn discussed teammates who left a big mark on her first season with Winona State, “I had an extra special bond with Callie Menzel,” she said. “Not only do we share the same birthday, but she is the kindest, sweetest and funniest person I know. I look up to her so much, which is why I changed my number this season to #17 so that I could wear her number.”
The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) came together and selected Winona State as tenth among all teams in the conference. They also released offensive and defensive players to watch for each team. Quinn represented Winona State as the preseason offensive player to watch for the 2025 season, accompanying Annika Groendal, who was the defensive player to watch. With this honor, she was one of the five second-year players out of the thirty-two possible players to watch.
Quinn talked about the recognition and her mindset towards this season.
“I am honored and don’t take this lightly. My goal for this season is staying focused on our team success and doing my part in contributing to that.”
The Women’s Soccer team has started the season on the road for the first weeks. With non-conference matches against University of Wisconsin-Parkside and Purdue University Northwest. Winona State traveled to Northern State and Jamestown to start conference play last week. The Warriors take the field for the home opener on Friday to take on the University of Mary Marauders at Maxwell Field. Winona State will play Minot State on Sunday at home as well. She will once again be playing in front of her hometown crowd as the conference play starts to kick into gear.
