Augustana University Women's Soccer

Barkuss 11th season directing the Augustana soccer program. The Vikings finished the season 13-5-3 (10-2-3 NSIC) finishing fourth in the NSIC standings and concluding their season in the NSIC Tournament title match. The 13 wins in 2016 are tied for the third most in school history and its the fourth consecutive season winning 10+ matches. Offensively, during the 2016 season Augustana scored the fifth most goals (38) in a single season in school history. Defensively, the Vikings produced the fourth best goalie save percentage (.849) and shutouts (6) in a single season and the fifth lowest goals against avg. (1.00). Barkus had seven student-athletes earn All-NSIC recognition in 2016. He had one first teamer, two on the second team, three on the third team and one earn honorable mention. Barkus also had two student-athletes earn three NSIC Player of the Week honors. The Vikings had four student-athletes named to the NSIC All-Tournament team. Augustana advanced to the NSIC Tournament title match for the second consecutive season after defeating No. 5 seed Minnesota Duluth in the quarterfinals and the No. 1 seed Minot State in the semis. The Vikings fell to No. 2 seed Minnesota State in the finals. Augustana was the No. 4 seed in the tournament. In 2016, Hannah Keirstead was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District 7 team which recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances athletically and in the classroom. Keirstead became the first Augustana soccer student-athlete to receive the honor. For the first time in program history Augustana was selected as preseason favorites in the NSIC and goalkeeper Taylor Machacek was tabbed as Preseason Defensive Player of the Year. The Vikings also achieved their first ever preseason ranking starting the season off as No. 17 in the NSCAA Top-25 Poll.  The 2015 season was one to remember for Barkus as he led Augustana to their first ever NSIC Championship by defeating Winona State 1-0 on Nov. 8. The victory earned the Vikings their second consecutive NCAA Tournament berth where Barkus earned his first ever NCAA tournament win by defeating Harding University 2-1 on Nov. 13. The win over Harding was also Barkus 100th career victory. In 2015, Barkus guided his soccer program to their best finish in school history with a 19-3-1 overall record and a 13-1-1 record in the NSIC. The Vikings 19 wins bettered their previous mark by five wins which was set the season before. The program that Barkus has built was on full display in 2015 where the Vikings took home a program best, 35 individual awards. Barkus helped land seven members onto the All-NSIC team (five first teamers and two third teamers), four on the NSIC All-Tournament team, 14 earned Academic All-NSIC and the Vikings had two NSIC Player of the Week honors. The awards continued for Barkus team as Taylor Machacek earned the programs first NSIC Tournament MVP Award. At a regional level Barkus helped land five athletes on the NSCA DII All-Central Region team (three first team members, a second team and third team member). Sam Tymkowicz and Lauren Brownrigg are the first Vikings to earn CCA DII All-Centeral Region honors. Records fell in 2015 under Barkus as well: Game winning goals (9, Tymkowicz), assists (7, Stevens), wins (19, Machacek) and shutouts (11, Machacek). In 2014, Barkus guided the Augustana to its highest levels in program history, resulting in taking home NSIC Coach of the Year honors for the first time in his career. The Vikings posted a record of 14-6 in 2014, the 14 wins were a new program record for most wins in a single season. Augustana used a high-scoring and exciting style of play en route to making its second appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The 14 wins in 2014 gave the program its first back-to-back seasons of at least 10 wins, and allowed for the team to earn its first-ever appearance in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Top 25. Augustana pushed itself to elite-level status in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference with a record of 12-3 in conference play, resulting in a second-place finish, the best the team has ever had since joining the league back in 2008. The Vikings also hosted their first postseason match Morstad against Minnesota Duluth in the quarterfinal of the NSIC Tournament, a 1-0 loss. Home-field advantage became a real weapon for Augustana as the Vikings posted an 8-1 record at Morstad Field in 2014, setting new school records for wins (eight) and winning percentage (.888) at home in a single season. On offense, Augustanas high-scoring ways were evident throughout the course of the year. The Vikings ranked in the top five in points (second, 109), goals (second, 40) and assists (fifth, 29) in the NSIC. The 40 goals were the second most in team history, trailing only the 42 by the 2003 team.  Augustanas 109 points in 2014 were just four shy of the program record of 113 set by the 2013 team. For a second straight year, Barkus had two players earn All-NSIC first team honors in Stephanie Stevens and Payton Pry. The duo also became the first two players in team history to be named to the NSCAA All-Central Region teams, with Stevens earning first team honors and Pry third team. Both players were a part of six Vikings to earn All-NSIC recognition for their stellar seasons, joining Ashley Limmer (second team), Samantha Arnold (second team), Emily Hanneman (second team), and Annie Thoresen (honorable mention). Arnold was also recognized for her terrific season under the leadership of Barkus, being named NSIC Newcomer of the Year. A historic start to the 2013 season resulted in the Vikings going 10-8-1.  The 10 wins marked the third time in team history that Augustana soccer has won at least 10, all have come under Barkus watch.  The Vikings made the NSIC Tournament the fourth time in school history, eventually losing 5-1 in the quarterfinals to Winona State. Some highlights for the year were a six-goal effort in a victory over MSU Moorhead, a 2-1 overtime victory over a tough Bemidji State team, taking then-second-ranked Minnesota State into double overtime before eventually losing 3-2 at Morstad Field, and a 2-1 win over then 19th-ranked Southwest Minnesota State to close out the regular season. The Vikings set several team records during the course of the year.  Team records that were set were: points in a season (113), assists (35), points per game (5.95), and assists per game (1.84).  Augustanas 39 goals were third most in team history. Maren Werth and Katie Hurd became the first teammates in team history to earn All-NSIC first team honors in the same season.  Werth also became the third player in Vikings history to earn Daktronics All-Central Region honors, being named to the second team.  Kara Bartels also earned All-NSIC honorable mention. An overall record of 6-10-2 in 2012 is not indicative of how hard the Vikings played. Nine of Augustanas losses were by a single goal. Eight teams that bested the Vikings by a lone digit posted winning records in the NSIC. One of the close calls was to Minot State, winner of the conference tournament and qualifier for the NCAA Tournament. Barkus Vikings capped the season with back-to-back 2-0 wins against the University of Sioux Falls and Southwest Minnesota State. Since 2008, the Vikings have charted a 68-56-11 record and have qualified for the NSIC tournament five times. In 2008, the Vikings advanced to the NCAA Division II tournament for the first time in school history. Barkus took command of the Viking program in 2006 and has compiled a 81-76-15 record. In 2011, his Vikings were 10-9 overall and tied for sixth in the NSIC at 7-6. Augustana, the No. 6 seed, lost 2-1 at No. 3 seed Minnesota Duluth in the quarterfinals of the NSIC/ US Bank tournament. The Bulldogs winning goal came at the 88-minute mark. Barkus 2008 squad posted the second-most successful season in the history of the womens soccer program. The Vikings were 13-6-1 overall and 10-3 in conference play.   Prior to his arrival at Augustana, Barkus helped goalkeeper Molly Schneider from the University of Minnesota register two of the most successful seasons in Golden Gopher history. She recorded five shutouts in 2004, the most by a goalkeeper at the school since 2000. She followed up with seven shutouts in 2005 while winning All-Big Ten Conference first-team honors as well as Soccer Buzz Great Lakes All-Region second team. Minnesota also cut its goals-against-average from a conference low of 2.38 in 2003 to 1.43 in 2004 and a school record 0.84 in 2005. Schneider allowed fewer than two goals in 16 of 19 games in 2005. She completed her collegiate career with a school record 1.12 goals against average. Before joining the Golden Gophers staff, Barkus spent three years (2000-2002) as head coach of the womens soccer team at Baker University in Baldwin City, Kan. He was an assistant mens coach at Baker before taking the helm of the womens program. He also served as director of the Olathe Soccer Club for seven years, and was the head coach of the Kansas Olympic Development Program from 1995-2003. The Augustana coach has earned his USSF A license and his USSF National Youth License. He has received the NSCAA Advanced National diploma and the NSCAA Level II Goalkeeping certification. A native of Omaha, Neb., Barkus was the head coach of the varsity boys soccer team at Atchison (Kansas) High School from 1995-1998. He was named Kansas High School Coach of the Year in 1998. As a player, Barkus was a two-time honorable mention All-America goaltender at Benedictine College in Atchison. He started three years for the Ravens and twice served as team captain. Barkus earned a bachelors degree in education from Benedictine in 1995, and a masters degree in education from Augustana in 2011. Barkus and his wife, Jennifer, are the parents of two daughters, Jillian and Sierra.   Brandon Barkus Year-by-Year

In the 2022 season, Haflett helped the team to a 11-7-2 overall record with a conference record of 10-4-1. The Vikings saw seven wins at Morstad Field. Six Vikings were named to NSIC All-Conference teams in 2022 while one earned the NSIC Player of the Week honors. One student athlete also garnered D2CCA All-Region honors during the 2022 season. Augustana head soccer coach Brandon Barkus has named Ashley Haflett as the women’s soccer assistant coach. Haflett joins the Vikings after two years as an assistant coach at Sioux Falls. Haflett is an Augustana soccer alum, having played for the Vikings from 2011 to 2015. Haflett began her coaching career in 2017 at UMary in Bismarck, North Dakota, and spent just over a year with the Marauder’s soccer program. In 2018, Haflett was an assistant coach for Missouri Western’s women’s soccer team where she assisted with the planning and implementation of team training. As a Viking, Haflett was the starting goalkeeper for three consecutive seasons and became the first Augustana goalkeeper to hold a winning career record. She earned NSIC Second Team honors for the 2015 season and holds the all-time season and career win records as a goalkeeper for the Augustana Women’s soccer program. Haflett earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in biology from Augustana in 2015 and added a master’s degree in kinesiology from UMary in 2019.