The Waterloo High School girls soccer program has been a model of consistency under longtime head coach Chad Holden. 

In fact, the Bulldogs have not endured a losing season over the past 25 years.

Coming off a 15-6-2 campaign in 2025 with nine of 11 returning starters, Waterloo could be in line to add hardware to its trophy case this spring.

“On paper, we look pretty strong,” Holden admitted.

A key returning player from a year ago is sophomore Nichole Gum, who led the Bulldogs in scoring with 30 goals and six assists in 2025.

Another important returner is senior Megan Young, who contributed 14 goals and 15 assists last season.

Young is part of what Holden described as a “creative midfield” that also includes Morgan Boyer, Jordyn Keller, Megan Huebner, Makenah Eugea, and Kiana Singleton – all of whom saw valuable varsity minutes last season.

Yet another key returning player is junior goalkeeper Makayla Gummersheimer, who played a ton of minutes guarding the net in 2025.

Holden said he has a solid defense protecting Gummersheimer, which includes Kaidyn Moore, Aubrey Heck, Maddy Prather, Paige Lindhorst and Olivia Burns.  

Adding to this exciting mix for Waterloo are two freshmen who look to be starters right away, those being Kenzie Nordike and Korryn McBride. 

“Both have looked very solid so far,” Holden said. 

Anyone familiar with girls soccer in this region knows the postseason goes through the perennial powerhouse known as Triad. Fortunately, Waterloo gets to play them twice this spring in the final season for the Mississippi Valley Conference. 

The Bulldogs most certainly have April 7 on the road and April 30 at home marked on the calendar for those grudge matches with the Knights.

Another important game on the schedule for Class 2A Waterloo is at home April 13 against Monroe County rival Columbia, the defending Class 1A state champion.

Holden is hopeful the regular season slate will have this year’s Bulldogs primed for a deep postseason run.

“We know we have a lot of games in a small amount of time, but as long as we can stay healthy, I think we should be quite competitive on the pitch this year,” he said.