A Pella Lady Dutch soccer senior credits the heartbreak of a loss at the end of her junior season for her next step in competing while at college.

Hailey Kowzan is making a short trek west this fall to compete with the Storm of Simpson College.

Kowzan says last year’s season-ending loss to DCG in the 2019 state tournament — which has now become career-ending, helped her find renewed passion for the sport.

“After we lost the quarterfinal last year, I was really devastated and felt that soccer is something really special in my life and I wanted to continue doing it,” she says. But that didn’t come immediately, as she called it a hard decision until she visited Simpson and met the coaches and players there.

Hailey was a varsity regular in 2018 before taking a big jump in her junior campaign, scoring seven goals and tallying seven assists on the state-bound Lady Dutch last spring. Hear more about Kowzan about continuing at Simpson on today’s Spring Sports Spotlight on 92.1 KRLS.