Greenville, SC – The NCCAA is pleased to recognize Haley Mersberger of the University of Northwestern as the 2025 Joe & Q Harding Award Recipient for Division I Women’s Soccer.

Haley Mersberger has lived throughout her collegiate career with open hands to what the Lord has for her. Growing up in a Christian home, Mersberger describes her family as a Deuteronomy 6:4-9 family, where she was raised to love Jesus with all her heart, soul, and strength. With this love, Mersberger has seen a middle school Bible study she helped lead, turn into a church plant. The Well of Elkhart Lake is now four years old and is a church, centered around serving the local public school, which Mersberger helped plant back near her hometown in Wisconsin. While navigating her senior soccer season and her academics five hours away from the church, Mersberger is working with the church leadership through prayer and planning to support a new community center that will further support the residents and spread the good news of the Gospel. 

In addition to Mersberger’s service in her hometown, she actively leads at Northwestern. She participated in a mission trip with her team to Spain in 2023, has led faith-based soccer camps in the greater Minneapolis area, and led Bible studies in the community. 

On the field, Mersberger has been a historic player for the Eagles. She holds the program record for career goals, single-season goals, single-game goals, game winning goals, career points, and single season points. Mersberger has over 80 goals in her career and in 2023 finished second in the NCCAA and NCAA Division III in total goals with 26. This year, she also ranks second in the NCCAA in total goals with 19. 

Academically, Mersberger holds a 4.00 GPA as a Ministry Leadership major. She has earned nearly every academic award available, and hopes to use her degree to move back to Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin to be more involved in The Well church and maybe even plant another church one day. 
 
“While Haley’s on-field impact is clear, she impacts our team most as both a spiritual and servant-hearted leader,” said Northwestern Head Coach Danny Brandt. “As a captain, Haley invests in our younger players through prayer, encouragement, and relational investment. She is the first to serve the team in any capacity she can, and is a spiritual leader through leading prayer, devotions, and setting the tone of the spiritual climate on the team. Haley has truly served the program as a Christ-centered leader.”
 
Other Finalists
Daisy Altamirano, Nelson University
Grace Beck, Bethel University
Hannah Muncie, Asbury University
Aivery Shuck, Houghton University
Emily Walraven, Redeemer University
 
Award Description
Joe served multiple terms as NCCAA Men’s Soccer chair while coaching at Huntington University and Moody Bible Institute. His teams collected three NCCAA National Championships, and Joe earned both the NISOA Honor Award and the NCCAA Frank Jewell Award for his excellence and integrity in coaching. His most recent honor was as an inductee into the Malone University Hall of Fame (2021). Carol, or as all her friends know her, Q, was a five sport standout at Wheaton College. Throughout the years, while a university professor and assistant coach to Joe, she was an encourager and advocate for NCCAA, especially within the sport of soccer. She was a prayer warrior for Joe and his student-athletes and also for many of Joe’s opposing coaches and peers, always caring more for those leaders than for the result of the matches. The NCCAA is honored to be able to present this award in the names of Joe and Carol “Q” Harding.