Composed Goalkeeper Naya Lipkens Helps Lead Women’s Soccer to Victory

Graduate goalkeeper for Loyola’s women’s soccer Naya Lipkens started her second season as a Rambler off strong with 49 saves that have helped her team record seven wins so far this season. 

Lipkens was welcomed to the team prior to the 2022 season after her four years at St. John’s University in New York. As Lipkens has excelled during her sixth collegiate season, head coach Barry Bimbi spoke to the level of experience she brings to the team. He emphasized her winning mentality and mature approach to the game after reaching the Sweet Sixteen with her teammates at St. John’s during her 2021 season. 

Although Lipkens said there are similarities between her experiences with St. John’s and Loyola’s programs, she highlighted one unique difference during her time at Loyola. 

“Because I’m a captain here and I wasn’t at St. Johns, I see kind of from a different angle,” Lipkens said. “I have different responsibilities, and it opens me up to doing things in a different way.”

Lipkens’ immediate influence was evident as Bimbi pointed out she was voted a team captain after being part of the program for less than a year. Bimbi said she has the ability to balance out a lot of the younger players on the team.

“She brings that mature approach to the college game,” Bimbi said. “But I think she balances a lot of the girls on the team with her experience.”

Even though Lipkens has been part of two different collegiate programs, one thing has remained constant — her stat sheet. During the 2021 season in New York, Lipkens recorded 10 individual shutouts and 86 saves over 23 starts. In her first season as a Rambler in 2022, she continued at this pace, contributing five shutouts, 64 saves and 18 starts.

Along with her extensive statistics, Lipkens added Atlantic-10 Defensive Player of the Week in September 2022 to her list of accolades. 

While Lipkens’ success on the field is shown through her powerful leadership and dominant skills, she acknowledged her up-and-down journey through college athletics. Throughout her soccer career, Lipkens dealt with two ACL tears dramatically decreasing her time and impact on the field.

During her first year at St. John’s, Lipkens looked up to a former teammate who returned from an ACL injury and dominated the game — and still does to this day. 

Fourth-year defender Alaina Abel said Lipkens has played an inspiring role for her team this season. Abel and Bimbi both said Lipkens brings vital calmness, level-headedness and composure to the backline. 

“I’ve been able to work side-by-side leading the team with her this year, and I would just say she’s just very inspiring in the way she leads and encourages others,” Abel said. “Her passion for soccer on and off the field shows, and she’s just a really good leader all around.”

Lipkens also mentioned her father’s inspirational role ever since he introduced her to the sport. 

“When I was younger my dad was my first coach so he kind of inspired my love for the game,” Lipkens said. “Also, he’s from Belgium so he gave me the love of watching professional soccer as well, so we’re big fans of the Belgium team.” 

Lipkens said she and the team have numerous goals for this season, including making playoffs and continuing as far as they can. Her personal goals include being the best leader and teammate she can be. 

Beyond her time representing Loyola on the field, Lipkens is in the process of completing her master’s degree in public health with a focus on epidemiology. She said she is looking forward to finding a job in public health that speaks to her and helps her get her footing in the field.

“I think fully finding a career that I can fully throw myself into just like how I have been with soccer,” Lipkens said. “Finding a new goal and purpose is something I want to do over these next years.”

This story was written by Colin Kennedy and Sabrina Godinho Dos Santos

Featured image by Aidan Cahill | The Phoenix