KCC women’s soccer team opens 2020-21 season

Women's soccer players Rachel Bammer, Payton Olmstead and Sarah Smith.

The Kellogg Community College women’s soccer team opened its 2020-21 competitive season April 2, a long-delayed start after COVID-19 pushed the usual fall competition to the spring semester.

The Bruins’ spring schedule includes nine more scheduled regular season contests, including five home games.

This year’s roster of 14 includes three returning sophomores (pictured above), including midfielder Rachel Bammer (East Leroy/Harper Creek High School), forward Payton Olmstead (Bellevue/home school) and defender Sarah Smith (Bellevue/Olivet High School). Also returning is second-year Head Women’s Soccer Coach Eierí Jordán Salivia, also the coordinator of Physical Education programming at KCC.

Salivia said despite a loss to national runner-up Delta College in the first game of the season, the team is happy to be on the field and playing again.

“We were still able to achieve some of the short-term goals we set for our first game and we came out happy about that,” Salivia said. “Every one of our student athletes gained valuable experience, and our goalkeepers especially had a solid performance after receiving over 30 shots in their first college game ever.”

This season is just the second women’s soccer season at KCC since 2013. The Bruins ended the new team’s first season in 2019 in postseason play, with an overall record of 6-10 and a 4-8 record in the team’s Michigan Community College Athletic Association conference. Three Bruins — including Bammer — won postseason soccer awards from the MCCAA and National Junior College Athletic Association that year. The team also earned MCCAA and NJCAA All-Academic Team honors, with 10 players earning individual academic honors.

For more information about KCC’s women’s soccer team, including a full team roster, schedule and links to official team and player photos available for download by fans and the press, visit www.kellogg.edu/soccer.

Coach Salivia can be reached at 269-565-2860 or saliviae@kellogg.edu.

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