First-year head coach Payton Chitwood is only three weeks into his inaugural fall with Dordt University women's soccer, but he's already seen his team respond to significant early-season challenges.

Defender Discussions With Payton Chitwood

The Defenders opened the 2025 campaign with a demanding West Coast trip, facing nationally regarded Eastern Oregon and No. 3 College of Idaho. Chitwood says the weekend was more than a scoreboard check, it was a character check.

"We wanted to find out two things," Chitwood explained on this week's Defender Discussions podcast. "Do we need to coach on-field details, or do we need to coach culture and character first? The answer was clear: our team killed it on the character and culture piece."

Learning through travel and competition
With just a week of training before flying across the country, Dordt took some lumps in its opener against Eastern Oregon but bounced back 24 hours later with an improved performance versus College of Idaho.

"They didn't complain about the travel or early mornings, they just went to work," Chitwood said. "Against the No. 3 team in the nation, we created chances and showed what we can strive to become."

Leaning on Returners
The 2023 team won 13 games and the 2024 unit came away with 12 victories. Karinna Tel returns after leading the team in scoring with 34 goals and eight assists and Joslyn Terpstra had nine goals and 16 assists.   Tel and Terpstra were 1^st team all-GPAC selections last season with Tel taking GPAC Offensive Player of the Year honors too and she was a NAIA All-American. Abby Worthy returns after earning 2^nd team all-GPAC notice and  Paige Miller and Hayden Jennett also earned GPAC honorable mention accolades in 2024.  

Building a foundation
Chitwood praised assistant coach Kara Lewis for steady leadership through the spring and summer as the new staff took shape. Early focus has been on blending Dordt's competitive drive with its Christian mission.

The Defenders returned to Sioux Center and immediately went to work:

• Monday at 6:30 a.m. — a "cross run" devotion and conditioning exercise designed to center the team on faith and commitment.
• Tuesday fitness session — high-intensity training to match the physical demands of elite competition.

"We're asking the team to embrace discomfort," Chitwood noted. "If training isn't as hard as the match, we're not preparing them well. They've responded with energy and discipline."

Strengths and points of growth
Chitwood pointed to discipline and responsiveness as early strengths, while belief is the next hurdle.

"We've been good, but we're chasing greatness," he said. "Do we believe in ourselves to fight through a full season and do something this program hasn't done before?"

The Defenders make their home debut this weekend with matches Friday and Saturday at the Soccer Complex.