Saint Peter Middle School

Saint Peter High School’s girls soccer program has long had a winning tradition, and someone who is very familiar with that legacy, Maggie Anderson, has officially been named as the program’s new head coach.

Anderson, a 2016 SPHS grad, played four years of varsity soccer for the Saints, including playing in two state tournaments (2012 and 2015). She has also spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach under Bre Landsteiner, who stepped away from coaching after the 2025 season to spend more time with her young family. The new Saints’ mentor played soccer for three years at Luther College (Decorah, Iowa) as well as four years of basketball for the Norse. 

“I love St. Peter and this is pretty much a dream come true for me,” Anderson said. “Even when I was going to college, I always knew in the back of my head that I eventually wanted to come back home to possibly teach and coach, and I’m so happy it has all worked out.”

Anderson, who teaches seventh-grade Life Science at Saint Peter Middle School, has an undergraduate degree from Luther College in science, a master’s degree in entomology from Kansas State University (Manhattan, KS), and she earned her science teaching degree from Minnesota State University (Mankato). She began teaching at SPMS in January 2024 and has also served the previous three seasons as an assistant coach under Landsteiner working with all three levels of players – varsity, junior varsity, and C squad.

“I’m so excited to give back to the community in this new role,” she said. “I’ve learned so much over the years, first from playing for Karl Larson here and then for Russ Schouweiler at Luther College, and of course the past few years coaching under Coach Bre (Landsteiner).”

Anderson is still adjusting to what being the head coach of a varsity girls’ soccer program entails, and will eventually figure out who her assistant coaches will be and what kind of style of offensive and defensive philosophies to which she’ll adhere. However, what she does know is what her expectations will be for the Saints’ team members.

“I really take to heart what I learned when I was younger from former Gustavus tennis coaching legend, the late Steve Wilkinson, about controlling the things you can control,” Anderson said. “Those things include that our players give maximum effort, show respect for others, and keep a positive attitude.

“I want our players to learn to love themselves along with loving the game of soccer. Hopefully they’ll learn skills that not only will help them on the soccer field but also help empower them in their day-to-day lives. I’m so excited to get started!”