Jenna Brader and teammate Karen Beers became the first two women’s soccer All-Americans for Otterbein in 2005. In 2003, Brader became the first freshman in Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) history to earn a Player of the Year award. She became the league’s first repeat Player of the Year in 2004, and, in 2005, captured the accolade for a third-consecutive season. Along the way, she picked up awards for All-Ohio and All-Great Lakes Region, as a player and a student. Her 2005 All-American Award came on the heels of the program’s best season to that point. In fact, although the Cardinals have progressed further since, no team has won more games. The 20-1-1 output that year set an OAC single-season record that has only been equaled by two other teams, the 2009 and 2010 Cardinals.

Despite bigger goals and assists in more important games, Brader’s 2005 performance against Capital University is perhaps the greatest example of her contributions at Otterbein. Just hours after being medically cleared to finish her season with the understanding that she would be playing each game in significant pain, but could do no further damage, she scored two goals and assisted a third in a 4-1 win over the team’s cross-town rival.

A team captain and leader by example, Brader helped guide the team to a 50-7-6 record during her playing career at Otterbein, as well as OAC Championships and NCAA Tournament appearances in 2004, 2005, and 2006. Unfortunately, her contributions as a player were cut short due to injury after just one game her senior year. She finished the 2006 season as an inspirational leader and hasn’t looked back since. Jenna still returns frequently for alumni matches and various events to share her experience with current players and recruits.