BURNSVILLE, MN – A historical season on the pitch for the Northern Sun champion University of Mary soccer team has translated into a plethora of postseason honors for the Marauders. The Northern Sun has selected Dina Polanco as the 2026 NSIC Offensive Player of the Year, Ivy Wessel as the NSIC Newcomer of the Year and Sarah Cook as the NSIC Coach of the Year.
 
Additionally, Polanco and Chloe Brand are awarded All-NSIC First Team honors with Kadyn Dilger, Harlee Peltz and Wessel collecting All-NSIC Second Team recognition.
 
This is the first time in program history a Marauder has earned Player of the Year and Coach of the Year honors.
 
The conference championship is also a program first for UMary.
 
Polanco was dominant in NSIC play all season. The sophomore forward led the NSIC with 17 goals and 35 points in league action. She also paced the conference with seven game-winning goals. The two-time NSIC Offensive Player of the Week was second in conference action in shots/game (4.47) and shots on goal/game (2.27).
 
The Guatemalan national team member set UMary NCAA records for goals (20) and points (42) in a season. She leads NCAA Division II in game-winning goals (8) and is fifth nationally in goals/game (1.05) and sixth in points/game (2.21). Polanco is a perfect 7-for-7 in penalty kick opportunities.
 
The 2025 NSIC Newcomer of the Year, Polanco is a repeat All-NSIC first team selection.
 
The 2026 NSIC Newcomer of the Year is Wessel. The sophomore from Rosemount, MN, joined the Marauders this season after playing last year at Loras College. She immediately made an impact, winning NSIC Defensive Player of the Week honors for her efforts in the season opener. She later earned weekly honors a second time during the season.
 
Wessel posted one goal and three assists for five points in NSIC games this season.
 
The defender was a key member of the Marauders back line and helped UMary limit NSIC opposition to .67 goals/game, the second-lowest mark in the league. The Marauders posted eight shutouts in 15 NSIC games and allowed five goals in last 13 league games.
 
Cook, an All-American as a scholar-athlete and a member of the Marauders Hall of Fame, is UMary's first NSIC Coach of the Year. She directed her alma mater to the Marauders first-ever Northern Sun title. UMary lost only one conference game and finished 12-1-2 for 38 points in NSIC action to set a school single-season record for NSIC wins and points.
 
UMary finished the NSIC season with a program-record 13-match unbeaten streak and earned a home playoff berth for first time since 2008. The Marauders qualified for the NSIC tournament for 9^th straight season and earned six NSIC Player of the Week honors.
 
In her 14^th season as Marauders head coach, Cook directed a starting lineup featuring three freshmen, four newcomers, seven underclassmen and seven new starters.
 
Additionally, UMary rank 5^th in the NCAA Power Index.
 
A defender from London, England, Brand earns league honors for a second straight season. The team captain was a second team selection in 2025.
 
Brand played a variety of roles for the Marauders, from defending to attacking. Staring all 15 league game, Brand scored two goals and delivered six assists in NSIC action. She scored the only goal of the game with 24 seconds left in the Marauders win over Northern State. Brand produced a point in eight games. She finished 4^th in NSIC games in assists and 16^th in points (10).
 
For the season Brand has 11 points over 19 games.
 
In her second year as the Marauders starting goalkeeper, Dilger had an incredible season. The junior from Big Lake, MN, started all 15 league games for UMary. She was credited with seven clean sheets and shared UMary's eighth shutout in NSIC action. Her .67 goals against average was fourth in the league and her .808 save percentage ranked fifth.
 
Dilger, who allowed just ten NSIC goals, averaged 2.80 saves per game.
 
Peltz was a key factor in the Marauders nearly impenetrable defense. Only twice in 15 NSIC games did UMary allow two more goals, with no more than one goal allowed in any of the last 13 games. The Marauders allowed just .67 goals/game, the second-fewest in league games. The junior defender from Albertville, MN, was named the NSIC Defender of the Week after UMary posted back-to-back 1-0 wins over Winona State and Concordia-St. Paul.
 
In the final game of the regular season Peltz scored her lone goal as UMary downed Minot State to win the league title. In 19 games overall this season she has one goal and one assist.
 
The Marauders, 13-3-3 overall this season, finda out their NCAA tournament fate when Division II tournament pairings are announced Monday, November 9, at 6 pm, on NCAA.com.
 
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