Nick Whiting was announced as HCU’s head coach of women’s soccer in April of 2024 just before the end of school, with returning players gone for summer by the time he arrived on campus full-time. In his first season, he guided the Huskies to a 5-9-5 overall record with a 3-4-3 mark in SLC play. Heading into year two, he had 17 newcomers joining 16 returners for the 2025 campaign.
The Huskies started the season with the most non-conference wins in program history thanks to a 5-4 record before their SLC opener against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Once league play began, HCU saw up-and-down performances in playing to a 2-2- 2 record through six SLC matches. After losing the next two and falling to 2-4-2, Whiting saw a last-minute game-winner against McNeese as an important spark.
“I think, against McNeese on Senior Day when we scored the late goal, that took some pressure off because then we knew we were making the (Southland) tournament,” he said. “I think that sort of relaxed the team and let them just play. It was a weight off their shoulders.”
HCU then closed out the regular season with a 2-0 road win over East Texas A&M to earn the No. 5 seed in the conference tournament and an immediate rematch against No. 4 ETAMU. Freshman Paisley Barela scored her first two goals of the season to stake the Huskies to a 2-0 lead before Isabella Dillow scored and an own goal made it a 4-0 final. The Huskies then knocked off regular season champion Northwestern State in the semifinals with Barela netting her third goal in two games to win it in the 83rd minute.
That win set up a championship matchup against a Stephen F. Austin team that handed HCU a sound 2-0 defeat in Nacogdoches less than a month earlier. A tightly-contested contest ensued with the teams battling to a 0-0 tie game at the end of regulation, setting up a 10-minute overtime with a “Golden Goal” rule ending the match and giving the win to whichever team scored regardless of how much time was left on the clock.
The Huskies found the game-winning goal in the ninth minute of overtime with junior Olivia Rossman sealing the title with assists from Ella Remy and Dillow.
“There was a calmness from our group in that championship game,” said Whiting. “When we went out for the coin toss before overtime in the championship, I told our leaders to pick to attack the direction of our bench so when we score they can celebrate with their teammates. So, we got our side and I knew then that they were going to make it happen and rush each other to celebrate.”
With the SLC title in hand, the Huskies were sent to Baton Rouge, La. for the first round of the NCAA Tournament and a matchup against 25th-ranked LSU. HCU fell behind, 2-0, but Remy intercepted a pass in front of the LSU goal and blasted a shot past the keeper to cut the deficit in half and record the school’s first-ever goal in the NCAA Tournament as the Huskies eventually fell, 4-1.
HCU finished the year 12-9-2 for the highest single-season win total in program history.