Despite returning 19 players and nine starters from the previous season, MVNU was still a relatively young team with only four seniors and four juniors as they entered the new season. The Lady Cougars also welcomed a new coach, Daniel Seiffert, late in the summer. However, despite the inexperience and all the changes, MVNU still entered the season with high expectations.

The year got off to a slow start for the Lady Cougars as they lost their first two matches and had another match wiped off their schedule due to a flooded field after they had driven 12 hours to New York to play it. However, the team bounced back and won three of its next four matches to even its record at 3-3.

Following a double overtime draw with NAIA No. 19 Ohio Dominican, MVNU split its next four matches to stand at 5-5-1 with both losses coming in double overtime. Then, the Lady Cougars really got rolling as they rattled off five straight wins to close the regular season with a 10-5-1 mark and an 8-3 American Mideast Conference mark that earned them the No. 2 seed in the AMC Tournament.

In the semifinals of the AMC Tournament, MVNU posted a 2-1 overtime win over Notre Dame College to advance to the championship match. Then, the Lady Cougars captured their first-ever AMC Tournament title and earned the program’s first berth in the NAIA National Tournament by advancing past NAIA No. 22 Houghton (N.Y.) College, the AMC regular-season champion, in a shootout after a scoreless double overtime draw.

The win earned MVNU a trip to NAIA No. 2 Lee (Tenn.) University in the NAIA National Tournament Opening Round. The Lady Cougars fell 3-0 to the Lady Flames who went on to capture their second straight NAIA national title, and MVNU finished with an 11-6-2 overall record to finish with a 145-67-9 record (.676 winning percentage) over the program’s first 10 years.

"As we entered this season, we were a very young team,” said Seiffert, who was named the National Christian College Athletic Association East Region Coach of the Year in his rookie season with the Lady Cougars. "Our players experienced the changes that come with a new coach, a new system of play, and welcoming in five new freshmen. As we came together as a team, our mettle was constantly tested throughout the season. Through injury and illness, the challenges of a tough schedule, and even a school record-setting seven overtime matches, our players persevered and improved every time that they took the field.”

"We set our goals high right from the beginning in August,” Seiffert continued. "Through hard work, determination, pure grit, and a whole lot of heart, ‘The 24’ built a historic season culminating with our first-ever AMC Tournament championship and our first-ever NAIA National Tournament appearance. The way our players came together as a team in such a supportive and selfless way was absolutely phenomenal and was the key to our successful run.”

Individually, four seniors wrapped up their careers by leading the Lady Cougars during the 2009 campaign. Defenders Mara Hughes and Angie Misamore anchored the MVNU back line that posted 10 shutouts and allowed just 16 goals in 19 matches. Hughes, who scored three times, received the NCCAA’s Michelle Akers Player of the Year award and was named to the NCCAA All-American First Team, while Misamore led the team by playing 1,782 minutes or all but eight minutes of the team’s season. Erin Miller, a midfielder, led the team with six assists as she finished her career with 17 assists to move into seventh place on the school’s all-time list. Nikki Bruscino, a forward, added a goal and two assists as she closed out her career with 10 goals and 10 assists.

Junior forward Jessica Estep led the Lady Cougars with 10 goals and one assist as she moved into fourth place in school history with 52 goals and 117 points. Freshman forwards Jessica Linger and Haley Sparks also added four goals each, while junior Jamie Blair, sophomores Courtney Ricker, Camille Smith, Amanda Woods, and Andrea Fisher each saw action up front on the attack for MVNU.

Junior goalkeeper Jenessa Loewen posted an outstanding season in goal as she registered eight shutouts and a 0.81 goals against average while stopping 88 shots. Sophomore Courtney Ball also saw action in two matches and did not allow a goal.

Junior Denče Stentz and sophomore Kelci Rhodes joined Hughes and Misamore on the back line, while sophomore Lindsey Shaffer and freshman Stacy Culbertson added to the defense’s depth.

In the midfield, sophomore Heidi Moeckel and freshman Rachel Elder helped the Lady Cougars control the action, while sophomores Erin Washington, Sarah Buehler, and Ashley Smithberger also saw action.

"I cannot speak highly enough about each and every player on our team as well as my coaching staff,” said Seiffert. "This season would not have been possible without them. We have a remarkable group of young Christian women and I’m so proud of them and what they have accomplished on the field, their servant’s hearts off the field, and their impact on the entire MVNU community. Our senior leadership was terrific, and I want to thank Mara, Erin, Angie, and Nikki for all their efforts. I am looking forward to all that God has planned for each one of them and for each one of our players as they move forward to even greater heights for His glory and honor.”