TOPEKA, Kan. — From game to game, Lindsey Maul is one of the most important players on the pitch for Washburn soccer, as the senior defender anchors one of the best programs in the country.
And when it comes to a historical perspective, she's one of the most accomplished athletes in team history.
A senior from Wichita, Maul has been a key contributor for two Final Four teams, including on last year's run by the Ichabods to the national semifinals. The energy and excitement that comes with the hunt for a championship is something that has stuck with the first-team All-MIAA honoree.
"It's always just such a rush, and I'm just so grateful that I have been able to have that opportunity with these girls," Maul said. "You just go in and everybody's just ecstatic to be there, we're going to practice every day and we're so happy and we're traveling to all these places, and it's just a rush of adrenaline and you want to keep going and keep pushing each other … It's just something I have never experienced before and I'm so thankful I've been able to do it."
Maul was part of the core of last year's Final Four participant, earning first-team all-region honors after a sensational junior campaign. But she wasn't just a bystander the first time around, either. That season, she started seven games while playing in 21 overall, scored the first (and so far only) two goals of her career and was on the pitch for 1,260 minutes.
That experience helped shape what Washburn is for her.
"As a freshman, it was all just new, new, for me," Maul said. "Coming in as a freshman and that's how far we went, it really just cemented for me that this is the standard here. People want this, people want to win, they want to work together. "
As for the difference the second time around:
"Yes, there was still that excitement about it and that feel, but it's not like, 'Oh my goodness, we got here,' it's 'We deserve to be here.'"
While the Ichabods bring home more hardware year after year, Maul herself has established a hefty collection of individual honors. That includes two all-conference selections, multiple regional honors and an All-NCAA tournament team nod her freshman year. Still, those individuals honors aren't her driving force.
"It's very rewarding to see that other people see how hard you work, but at the end of the day all it is is an accolade," Maul said. "Yes, it feels nice, but at the end of the day I'm here to play how I play and to play for these girls, and I wouldn't be here without them."
It needs to be noted that on-the-field honors aren't the extent of Maul awards, as she's also twice been named an MIAA Scholar-Athlete and has been on the conference's academic honor roll three times.
Work in the classroom, she said, is as important as her work on the field.
"I'm not going to lie, it's very busy," Maul said. "But the main thing is just, after everything is said and done, you do just need to set aside some time at the end of the day or even early in the morning to focus on your schoolwork, because it is very important. I put that possibly at the top of my priorities to do."
Maul's college journey has been a prosperous one by both team and individual standards. And that journey isn't done yet, with high expectations on this program yet again after starting the season ranked in the top 25.
She knows those high expectations come with the territory when you compete for Washburn.
"Coming in, getting recruited by [coach Davy Phillips], it's very flattering because I know how good of a reputation this team has both on and off the field," Maul said. "It's really just exciting because he sees that in me, he sees that in you. As we have progressively and continuously gotten better and done it more consistently, I just feel like with the younger girls, they know what they're getting into."
The Ichabods are back in action next Friday, Sept. 11 against the Ouachita Baptist Tigers in Washburn's first road game of the season.