Competition, support drive Kraemer sisters' success in the NCAA and beyond

Rookie Caitlin Kraemer scored the game-tying and game-winning goals for Minnesota Duluth on September 22 to ensure a weekend sweep for then No. 7 UMD over then No. 1 Ohio State. They were her first collegiate goals in just her second game on the ice for the Bulldogs. That alone was a pretty amazing feat.

But it turns out that Caitlin was actually the third Kraemer to score a collegiate goal that Saturday.

Before Caitlin's heroics for UMD women's hockey, her sisters Kayla and Abby each scored a goal for the University of Maine women's soccer team, leading the Black Bears to a 2-1 win over Binghamton for their first America East conference win of the season.

It was a pretty amazing day for the Kraemer family of Waterloo, Ontario - and one that seems likely to be quite rare (though there’s not an easy way to track such things). But it wasn't all that out of the ordinary for the very talented Kraemer sisters.

There are four Kraemer sisters - Kayla is the oldest, followed by Abby and Caitlin. Youngest sister Ashley is still in high school, but also plays soccer and is hoping to follow her sisters' path and play in the NCAA. 

All four girls grew up playing team sports, something mom Connie said was important to her and husband Chris as part of raising their children. Both parents played sports at the University of Waterloo and Chris said without sports, he and Connie never would have met. 

“Chris and I both grew up with team sports and I think we would agree that it really shapes kids at any level they play. There's a lot of personal development in team sports, learning to win, learning to lose, working as a team, commitment. It was important to us that they try team sports and mix it up, playing different sports,” said Connie. 

Each of the girls spent time playing soccer and hockey growing up as the seasons didn’t overlap much and kept them busy year-round. They eventually chose different paths, but Caitlin, Kayla and Abby agree there are parts of their game in their chosen sport that they can trace back to playing the other sport.

The sisters are close, but competitive. The three currently in college connect via Facetime several times a week, said Kayla. With Abby following Kayla to Maine, the two have been able to support each other and said they’re now doing the same for Caitlin in her first few weeks of college. 

“Growing up, it was a great environment because we were all each other's biggest competitor, but also each other's biggest cheerleader,” said Abby. 

For Caitlin, having two sisters who’d already chosen to go to the US and play in the NCAA helped pave the way for her own collegiate career. 

“It was definitely really great growing up with three sisters. They were great role models. We’ve been able to see where each other have had success and learn from it,” said Caitlin. 

A strong skater with great instincts and a hard shot, Caitlin is also a bit of a cerebral player who is really good at self-assessment and knowing her strengths and weaknesses. With an eye towards always getting better, she has taken bits of her sisters’ personalities and playing styles to help inform who she is on and off the ice. 

“I don’t think I’d be where I am without any of my sisters. We're similar, but different. We all kind of have the same athleticism, but Kayla is a very smart player. Ashley and Kayla, I look at how smart they are and how skilled they are and how they focus on the little details, and I try to bring that to my game. A big thing in my game is being aggressive and having a lot of grit and I think I get that from Abby. She is very strong, powerful and very explosive. She gives me that extra edge to push just from competing against her growing up. And then my younger sister, she's just kind of a mix of everything. We each bring different things so there are always learning opportunities,” said Caitlin. 

As the third of the four siblings, Caitlin has always functioned as part of a bigger group. That and her parents’ commitment to team sports means she has always been comfortable working as one part of a whole. Growing up this way helped her learn how to read people and anticipate and adapt to their needs, something that’s been really useful in her hockey career. 

“Anything you do, it's important to not have an individualistic mindset,” said Caitlin. 

With just a few years separating all four Kraemer sisters, competition was natural, but it was quarantining during the pandemic that really heightened the way the sisters learn from and push each other. Caitlin admitted that she’s not usually the first person to get up in the morning and decide to go for a run, but usually one of her sisters was lacing up her shoes. The sisters kept each other motivated.

“Reflecting back, whenever we worked out together, it's always just fun because we always made it a good competition. We were always chirping at each other. It just made us better athletes in the long run,” said Kayla.

Chris remembers some car rides home from a local track where the sisters trained that were silent and moody because the competition had gotten a little too serious. But Kayla, Abby and Caitlin said that having constant training partners as well as parents who’d time their runs or spot their reps with weights put them in great position to succeed coming out of quarantine. 

“We were all different ages and at different levels of our playing career, but we were all pushing through similar workouts. I think that just bonded us so much as four sisters. I think it just pushed us so far towards our goals and what we wanted to achieve,” said Abby. 

And achieve they have. 

At the IIHF U18 Women’s World Championships in January, Caitlin broke Marie-Philip Poulin’s record for goals and points with the under-18 Canadian national team. Caitlin scored 10 goals in each of the two tournaments she played in and overall tallied 37 goals in 32 games played for a total of 53 points. She won gold in that tournament in 2023 and bronze in 2024.

In 2023, Abby was named the first-ever All-American in Maine women’s soccer program history. Maine is just the fourth school as a member of the America East to have an All-American honoree. She led the conference in shots, shots on goal, goals, game-winning goals, and points. Her 13 goals were the most in a single season in the America East since 2018. She was honored with Maine's 'M' Club Dean Smith award, presented annually to the top male and female student-athletes at the University of Maine. This season she was one of 44 Division I women's soccer players named to the MAC Hermann Trophy watch list and is the only player from an America East program on the 2024 list.

Abby and Kayla were important parts of the team that won the program's first-ever America East Championship last season and Kayla scored her team’s opening goal in the tournament championship game that Maine won 3-2 in overtime. The Black Bears are currently atop the conference this season and have already clinched a berth into the conference tournament.

Connie and Chris are thrilled their kids are excelling but are quick to point out that each one of them has put in the hard work to get to where they are. The parents tried to provide guidance without pushing, they said. 

“We’re very thankful they found their passion and worked really hard at it. We have nothing but pride for them. There have been ups and downs, physically and mentally, that they've all gone through on their own accord. They earned it. They worked hard but they also have the right mindset and that’s important in team sports. It’s one thing to win, but it’s another to work as a team. I think that sets them apart. They hold themselves accountable, but they also have the ability to hold their team in a supporting way. They are tough on themselves,” said Connie. 

Having grown up in a time when there were fewer opportunities for women and girls in sport, Chris and Connie are extra appreciative of the environment their daughters have been able to excel in. Yes, the sisters always had each other, but they’ve also been able to play with other girls and form strong bonds that make them even stronger women. Team and individual achievements have never been the focus of why Connie and Chris started their children in sport. Years later, what Chris is struck by isn’t that each daughter is an elite athlete playing (or hopefully about to play) Division I NCAA athletics.

“I said to Kayla and Abby recently when I was in Maine, ‘who could have ever imagined you could be in this spot?’ To see the opportunities and the privileges that the girls have had - they’ve worked very hard and obviously they got scholarships, but they've paid in blood and tears, all that stuff,” he said. 

“I'm just so happy and proud that they've been able to have that experience. And I know that all that they've learned along the way has set them up to be successful in the NCAA, and that'll carry through with them when they’re done. They can do anything.” 

(Photos/Kraemer family, Maine Athletics, UMD Athletics)