The University of Mary Marauders Hall of Fame
An All-American on the final University of Mary women’s soccer team to make the NAIA national tournament and a decorated performer on the Marauders first NCAA playoff team, Shanda (Lester) Simburger played a key role in UMary’s successful transition to a new level of competition and showed the program could be a force at any level.
A defensive midfielder out of St. Thomas More High School in Rapid City, SD, Simburger immediately impacted a strong Marauders squad that advanced to the 2004 national tournament. UMary finished 15-7-2 overall in their final NAIA season as she earned NAIA honorable mention All-American honors. After a transitional season in 2005, Simburger ensured the Marauders made an immediate impact on the Northern Sun (NSIC) in 2006. A powerhouse in its first NSIC tournament, UMary captured the title behind three straight 1-0 wins, including a victory over regular season champion and tournament host Winona State University. She earned NSIC all-tournament and All-NSIC honorable mention honors for her work.
The Marauders 2007 season stands as one of the best in program history and Simburger played a huge role. Following an impressive regular season, the Marauders again captured the NSIC tournament title, once again winning all three games by a 1-0 score with Simburger repeating as an all-tournament team selection. After tying the program record for wins in a season with 16 and setting records for fewest goals allowed, the Marauders qualified for the NCAA tournament for the only time in program history. Simburger, recognized as an NSIC Defensive Player of the Week during her senior season, was named to the NSCAA/adidas All-Central Region 3rd team and the All-NSIC 2nd team after posting four goals and four assists.
The daughter of Brent and Nancy Jo Lester, Shanda graduated from the University of Mary with honors in 2008, earning a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education, Special Education and Early Childhood Education. Later she earned a master’s degree in occupational therapy from the University of South Dakota. Shanda is a resident of Wyoming and works remotely for a pediatric home-health therapy company. Married to former Marauders All-American wrestler Elijah Simburger, Shanda and Elijah are the parents of Sawyer and Lander.
