Last winter, Jim and Lisa Klunder took a look at the women's soccer schedules at Grand Valley State and Spring Arbor and realized something amazing was possible with their daughters.

The national championships were in Pensacola, Fla., for NCAA Division II and in Orange Beach, Ala., for NAIA. That's 27 miles apart.

"When we found out Division II was going to be in Pensacola, we got out a map and said, 'Oh, my word. Could this even ever happen?'" Lisa Klunder said.

In fact, it did. On Saturday, a parents' dream came true as the Klunders watched both daughters win national titles within hours of each other.

Katie, a senior midfielder, started and played her final collegiate game for Grand Valley State, and the Lakers defeated Columbus State 2-0 in Pensacola.

From there, the couple hopped in their car to Orange Beach and watched nearly all of Spring Arbor's 3-0 upset over top seed Lindsey Wilson College with Sarah, a sophomore midfielder, picking up a pair of assists.

Does it get any better than that for soccer parents?

Katie Klunder

Sarah Klunder

"No. It was amazing," said Lisa Klunder.

It wasn't without its logistical obstacles. Once Grand Valley State's noon game was done, they had to dash to make the Spring Arbor game.

"We cheered, gave a quick hug to her senior daughter and I was literally changing my sweatshirts in the car," Klunder said with a laugh. "Off with Grand Valley, on with Spring Arbor, change the baseball hats. It was all worth it."

In fact, it was soccer nirvana all week for the parents - albeit some nail biting. They drove out from Grandville early in the week as the NAIA format enabled them to watch Spring Arbor play four times beginning Tuesday. And they also got to see Grand Valley State's semifinal win, too, on Thursday.

"It was like back to back to back all week long. We were just going back and forth," Lisa Klunder said. "It was a miracle the way the schedule worked out."

It was cool for the sisters, too. Sarah and the entire Spring Arbor team drove to see the Lakers play in the semifinals. That was emotional and uplifting for Katie, who saw her sister at halftime.

"I couldn't help but cry because I was so excited to see her," she said. "We've been best friends since we were little."

Sarah said having her parents see Katie's final collegiate game was most important.

"It was just great and super lucky to have them for both," she said. "But really I think the most important thing was that it was my sister's last year, and to have them see her win that was super special."

The sisters, who played one season together at Grandville Calvin Christian, didn't get to spend time with other each and the four never did get a quiet dinner together. But the day will live on.

"As everyone was telling us," Katie said, "it was a great day to be a Klunder."

Pete Wallner covers sports for MLive Grand Rapids Press. Email him at pwallner@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Google+.