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MITCHELL — Soccer hardly ever stops for Mia Mullenmeister.
Last fall, Mullenmeister was a senior at Mitchell High School helping lead the Kernels to an unprecedented level of success. A couple of short months later, she enrolled early at Utah State to get a head start on her collegiate career.
Now, in her latest adventure, Mullenmeister is back in South Dakota shining for Sioux Falls City Football Club.
With SFCFC, a member of the Women’s Premier Soccer League, Mullenmeister is competing alongside several other native South Dakotans and players from neighboring states such as Minnesota, Nebraska and Wyoming. But the roster also includes domestic talents from as far away as California, Texas, Pennsylvania, and New Hampshire, as well as international players from Canada, Brazil, Columbia, Japan, Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands, many of whom are connected to the region through local universities.
“It’s been fun to reconnect with some old club teammates this summer, and we always have that connection on the field,” Mullenmeister said. “To be able to put it out there for Sioux Falls City has been really fun, and we’re doing pretty well, so it should be exciting in these next couple of weeks.”
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Mullenmeister’s assessment of her club’s play is a bit of an understatement. Sioux Falls City wrapped up its regular season last weekend by improving its record to 9-0-0 and locking up a Northern Conference championship. The performance secured postseason hosting privileges for SFCFC, which plays its home matches at the University of Sioux Falls’ Bob Young Field, for the WPSL Central Region playoffs on July 13-14.
In the penultimate game, Sioux Falls City — then ranked No. 2 in the WPSL power rankings — earned a 1-0 win over top-ranked rival Salvo FC, a club out of Roseville, Minnesota. Playing in front of a large home crowd, Mullenmeister provided the assist on the game-winning goal. Earlier in the season, Mullenmeister was named the WPSL Central Region player of the week for May 27-June 2.
True to her form while at MHS, where she scored 130 career goals, including 43 in 2023, Mullenmeister is Sioux Falls City’s leading scorer on the year, too. Though the natural forward still plays centrally at times, she’s adapted to playing on the wing more for Sioux Falls City, which has benefited her game as well as the club.
“I think that just helps me expand my game to be able to make runs down the sideline and make crosses in or take the defender one-on-one,” Mullenmeister said. “It’s been really good to expand my game and just play good, competitive soccer this summer.”
Mullenmeister’s schedule will soon ramp up even further. Following the Fourth of July, she has to report back to Utah State for team activities. However, she hopes to be back in Sioux Falls for SFCFC’s playoff matches on July 13-14. Should Sioux Falls City advance, Mullenmeister’s college program responsibilities further overlap with the club postseason later in the month, making her availability uncertain.
“It’s definitely not ideal, but it works because this is what I want to do,” Mullenmeister said of the busy schedule. “I definitely want to get out to Utah and meet my freshman class, but I also want to see this Sioux Falls City team through and do as well as we can.”
Sioux Falls City will learn its playoff opposition next week with the official release of the WPSL postseason bracket. Tournament winners from the four regions — Central, East, South and West — advance to the WPSL Championship, set for July 20-21 in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
But no matter the final outcome, Mullenmeister maintains that she’s had a memorable experience this summer.
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“Honestly it’s been great. It definitely is a lot of work, but I love this game,” Mullenmeister said. “I’m really excited to go back out to Utah, but I’ve been loving these summer games and it’s just been nice to be home and see everyone. It’s been a good summer overall.”
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