THIS WEEK
The University of Mary women's soccer team hosts their final two regular season games of 2025 on Halloweekend when MSU Moorhead visits on Friday, October 31, and the University of Minnesota Crookston comes to town on Sunday, November 2. Game time both days is 1 pm at the MDU Resources Community Bowl in Bismarck, ND.
 
TRUNK & TREAT SET FOR HALLOWEEN
To start Halloween off in spooktacular fashion, join us for the "Marauders Trunk or Treat" celebration following the Marauders-Dragons game Friday with candy and activities for our young fans, hosted by the UMary Black Student Union.
 
Additionally one fan will be celebrated at halftime of both weekend games for the outstanding Halloween costume of the game!
 
THE RECORDS
UMary is 7-5-3 overall and 5-4-3 (18 points/7^th place tie) in NSIC play in 2025… MSU Moorhead is 3-11-1 overall and 2-10-0 (6 pts/14^th place) in the NSIC… Minnesota Crookston is 1-12-2 overall and 0-11-1 (1 pt/16^th place) in the NSIC.
 
WEEK SEVEN REWIND
Making their final weekend road trip of the season, UMary picked up two road wins and jumped from 12^th in the NSIC standings to 7^th… The Marauders opened with a clutch 3-2 win at Sioux Falls to start the trip. UMary scored the opening two goals of the game in the first half when Chloe Brand scored directly on a corner kick before Maicee Burke tallied in the 40^th minute. USF fought back to tie the game on goals in the 71' and 81' mark. With time running out, Rachel Gensch delivered a scintillating cross from the right endline to the far post for a brilliant finish by Olivia Gardner at 84:07… On Sunday UMary picked up a 4-0 win at Southwest Minnesota State. Less than five minutes into the match, Olivia Gardner scored the game-winning goal for the second straight game. After playing into 20 mph winds in the first half, the Marauders tallied three times in the first ten minutes of the second half with the wind to their backs. Addson Massey scored off the second helper of the game by Maliah Burke, Tara Young knocked home a corner kick service from Brand, and Brand knocked in a corner kick service for the second straight game.
 
ON THE RUN
The Marauders are 5-2-3 in their last ten games and have outscored the opposition 26-9… During a three-game win streak at home, the Marauders overwhelmed the opposition 14-0.
 
CLIMBING THE CHARTS
With a pair of wins last weekend, the Marauders moved from 12^th place in the NSIC standings to a tie for 7^th place. With three regular season NSIC games remaining the Marauders theoretically could finish anywhere from 3^rd to 12^th place. The top eight teams qualify for the conference tournament with the top four teams hosting the opening round.  
 
OPPO RESEARCH
MSU Moorhead has lost six straight games, including three straight to teams ranked regionally. Brooklyn Broderick and Ana Cecillia Walker lead the Dragons with three goals each, combining to score half the team's goals. Rylee Truslow averages an NSIC-high 9.00 saves/game… MSUM has been outscored this season 48-12… UMC has struggled to score this season. While giving up just 25 goals in 15 games, the Golden Eagles have found the net just four times. Payton King is second in the NSIC in saves/game (6.50) and is 5^th in save percentage (.839). UMC has six 1-0 losses this season, owns a 1-0 win and has two scoreless draws.
 
HISTORY LESSON-UMARY VS. MSU MOORHEAD
UMary is 16-0-4 against the Dragons since beginning NCAA and NSIC play in 2006, including a 7-0-4 record at home.
 
HISTORY LESSON-UMARY VS. SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA STATE UNIVERSITY
The Marauders are 13-2-3 against the Golden Eagles since beginning NCAA and NSIC play in 2006, including five straight wins and an 8-match unbeaten string (7-0-1). UMary is 7-0-2 at home and 6-2-1 at UMC. The Marauders haven't allowed a goal to the Golden Eagles in six straight games
 
FOLLOW LIVE
Links to live stats and video are available at www.goumary.com/coverage
 
SCORING SPLURGE
Averaging 2.20 goals/game, the Marauders rank first in scoring in the Northern Sun and 40^th in NCAA Division II… Olivia Gardner is 37^th in NCAA D2 in goals (9) and Dina Polanco (8) is 50^th.
 
GARDNER NAMED NSIC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
A pair of game-winning goals earned Olivia Gardner Northern Sun Women's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week honors. In a game deadlocked at 2-2 with time running out, Gardner used a spectacular finish to score in the 85th minute of a 3-2 win at the University of Sioux Falls on Friday.
The two-time All-Northern Sun forward then scored the opening goal on a header just 4:15 into the Marauders 4-0 win at Southwest Minnesota State University on Sunday. A UMary team captain, the senior from Winona, MN, has scored eight goals in the last six games, and at least one goal in five of the six matches. She ranks 3rd in the NSIC with nine goals on the season. She is 4th in game-winning goals (3) and 5th in points (18)… This is the second time Gardner has earned NSIC weekly honors. She was previously recognized the final week of the 2023 regular season after scoring goals in a pair of road wins, including a 1-0 victory.
 
BEND IT LIKE BRAND
Chloe Brand twice scored goals last weekend when she delivered corner kicks directly into the net. The junior defender in her first season at UMary opened the scoring in a 3-2 win at Sioux Falls when her service from the left corner scraped the top of the Cougar goaltenders outstretch hands and found the net. On Sunday Brand again scored when she triggered the ball from the left corner and drove the ball just under the crossbar for her third goal of the season for UMary's final goal in the 4-0 win at SMSU. She also picked up an assist on goal three when her corner kick was knocked home by Tara Young.
 
GARDNER GOES GANGBUSTERS
All-Northern Sun forward Olivia Gardner has broken out in a big way. The Winona, MN, native has scored eight goals in her last six games, including two-game winners in back-to-back road wins over USF and SMSU. Gardner started her scoring binge with three two-goal games in the span of four matches, posting a brace against Wayne State, Jamestown and Northern State… Gardner leads the Marauders in goals this season (9) and is 3^rd in the NSIC. Twice a 2^nd team all-conference selection, the senior quad-captain has 24 goals in her career and six assists for 54 points.  
 
OFFENSE+DEFENSE=SUCCESS
The Marauders rank 1^st in the NSIC in goals scored/game (2.2) and 6^th in goals allowed per game (1.0)… UMary's scoring margin of 1.2 goals/game is 3^rd in the conference… UMary is 3^rd in shutouts with seven. 
 
DYNAMIC DINA
Freshman midfielder Dina (pronounced DEE nah) Polanco is second on the Marauders in goals with eight and is 4^th in the Northern Sun… Polanco had three goals in her first three collegiate games, all by different methods. The native of Guatemala scored her first career goal on a free kick in a 2-0 win over MSU Billings. In a 4-0 win at Washburn, Polanco blasted home a shot during the run of play for the opening goal of the day. Shortly after she drew a foul to earn a penalty kick opportunity which she converted for her second goal of the day and third of the season… She had her first 2-goal game against Jamestown, scoring on a header and a penalty kick… Polanco has two game-winning goals… With 18 points (8 goals 2 assist) Polanco is 3^rd in the NSIC in points/game (1.38) and 4^th in total points.
 
GOALS BY GENSCH
Rachel Gensch is third on the Marauders in goals scored with three in ten games. Over the course of 23 games in her UMary career, the senior forward has six goals and seven assists for 19 points.
 
CLEAN UP ON AISLE NUMBER ONE
Kadyn Dilger has started 13 games in goal for the Marauders this season and owns seven shutouts. After making a pair of appearances for UMary as a freshman in 2024, Dilger has moved into the starting role this season and has posted clean sheets in a 2-0 win over MSU Billings, a 4-0 victory at Washburn, a 0-0 draw at Winona State, a 7-0 win over Wayne State, a 2-0 win over Augie, a 5-0 win over Jamestown and a 4-0 win at SMSU.  The sophomore is 3^rd in the NSIC in shutouts and 6^th in goals against average (0.923). 
 
YOUNG BREAKS THROUGH
Senior defender and team captain Tara Young posted her first collegiate goal in the Marauders 5-0 win over Jamestown. A 4-year starter, Young's goal came in her 70^th career game. She had picked up her first two assists of the season in the previous two games. It only took Young three more games to double her career number for goals when she scored again at SMSU.  
 
HELPING HAND
MaLiah Burke leads UMary with four assists this season. Twice she has delivered assists on the game-winning goal (UJ, SMSU). All four assists have come in the last four games with two in the win at SMSU. This is the fourth straight season the Marauders captain has posted four assists. The forward from Minot, ND, now has nine goals and 16 assists from 34 points in 70 career games.
 
SEVEN GOALS TIES UMARY NCAA RECORD
The Marauders scored seven goals against Wayne State College ties UMary's NCAA era record for goals in a game. The mark was established in UMary's 7-0 win over Minnesota Crookston on October 14, 2019, in a game delayed three days due to a fall snowstorm.
 
DILGER SELECTED NSIC GOALKEEPER OF THE WEEK OCT 13
After posting two clean sheets on Homecoming Weekend, University of Mary soccer goalkeeper Kadyn Dilger was named the Northern Sun's Goalkeeper of the Week. It is her first career selection for the weekly honor. Dilger, a sophomore, played all 180 minutes for the Marauders this past weekend as UMary secured its first two conference wins. She secured the one save she was asked to make in a one-sided 7-0 win over Wayne State on Friday to start her weekend. On Sunday, Dilger went on to shutout the Augustana Vikings in a 2-0 victory. Augustana came into the game as the highest scoring team in the NSIC. In that victory, the Marauders faced immense pressure in the first half with heavy winds blowing towards Dilger's net. The sophomore stood tall, making four saves and withstanding a barrage of offense that featured seven corner kicks… Dilger currently has five shutouts to her name this season in her first year as the primary goalkeeper for the Marauders. That places her third in the Northern Sun's leaderboard in that category while missing two games earlier this season. Dilger is the first UMary goalie to win the award since Molly Fischer did so last year on Sept. 23. She is the youngest athlete to claim NSIC Goalkeeper of the Week for the Marauders.
 
SEVEN HEAVEN
The Marauders have qualified for postseason play seven straight seasons and eight times total under the helm of head coach Sarah Cook. The seven straight NSIC tournament appearances ties the longest streak in program history when UMary qualified for the postseason its first seven years in the league (2006-2012).
 
EIGHT STRAIGHT
After recording a record of 11-4-4 overall in 2024, the Marauders posted double digit wins for the third straight year and own winning record in six of eight seasons and finished with a .500 or better record for the eighth straight season.


DEBUTS
Nine Marauders made their UMary debuts against MSU Billings: Maggie Bono, Chloe Brand, Theresa English, Lauren LaFountain, Addison Massey, Mia Melton, Dina Polanco, Emmy Strobel and Hanna Sutter. Newcomers Polanco, Sutter and Brand have all earned starts… Sophomore goalkeeper Kadyn Dilger made her first collegiate start after appearing in two games for the Marauders last season… Freshman goalkeeper Wiktoria Slupianek made her first two college starts against Minnesota State and St. Cloud State.

107
Marauders head coach Sarah Cook earned her 100^th victory at UMary in the Marauders 2-1 overtime win at St. Cloud State University in the 2024 NSIC quarterfinals and now owns 107 wins. A member of the Marauders Hall of Fame after earning All-American honors three times as a scholar-athlete, Cook is in her 14^th season after taking over leadership of the program prior to the 2012 season. She is the program record-holder for career coaching wins.
 
EXPERIENCE
The Marauders return 18 players from last year's squad, including 11 who earned at least one start throughout the year and six who made 14 or more. Returners with seven or more starts last season include seniors Tara Young (3 years as a starter), MaLiah Burke (2), Rio Spruenken (3), Olivia Gardner (3), Allison Lepp (1), Kira Hockley (1) and Rachel Gensch (1) and junior Kadyn Sharpe (2).
 
CLASS BREAKDOWN
9 seniors/graduates
7 juniors
5 sophomores
9 freshmen
 
ALL-NSIC RETURNERS
The Marauders return four of their six All-Northern Sun players from last season: Sr. D Allison Lepp (1^st team 2024), Sr. F Maliah Burke (2^ne team 2024), Sr. F Olivia Gardner (2nd team 2023, 2^nd team 2024) and Sr. M Rio Spruenken (2^nd team 2022, 2^nd team 2024).

31^st SEASON OF MARAUDERS SOCCER
This is the 31^st season of University of Mary women's soccer. The Marauders took to the pitch for the first time in 1995.
  
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