In her first year as an assistant, Benedict saw the team have a successful season. The team ended with a record of 12-5-2 overall and 9-4-2 in conference. The team earned the 5th seed in the NSIC Conference Tournament and made it to the semi-finals. The team tallied 6 shutouts and a 1.63 goals scored per game average. Two Marauders, Caitlin Dooley and Megan Lowery, earned All-NSIC Second Team honors. Caylin Cathey and Jade Smith earned All-NSIC Third Team honors, and Libby Patterson earned All-NSIC Honorable Mention. Eight Marauders earned NSIC All-Academic honors. Lowery and Dooley were also selected to the 2017 United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division II Women’s All-Central Region team.
Benedict worked with the attacking players this season and saw the goals scored per game increase from 1.35 to 1.63. The number of goals increased from 23 to 31 on the season. The attacking mindset of the team also saw an increase in corner kick opportunities from 71 to 108.
The all-time University of Mary record holder for goals scored in a career and a season, Nicole Benedict was the first UMary women’s soccer player to gain admittance into the Marauders Hall of Fame in 2010.
Benedict starts her second stint on the Marauders women's soccer coaching staff in 2017, where she joins the staff of head coach Sarah Cook, a former teammate and fellow UMary Hall of Fame member.
A first team NAIA All-American in 2003 while earning Player of the Year honors for NAIA Region III, Nicole also earned honorable mention All-American honors in 2002 and 2004 while leading U-Mary to three straight NAIA national tournaments (2002-‘04). In her four seasons, the Marauders finished a combined 51-29-8. During their playoff run, U-Mary went 14-6-2 in 2002, 14-8-2 in 2003, and 15-7-2 in 2004, while outscoring the opposition by a combined 184-90.
Twice named the Marauders most valuable player, Nicole set a school record for goals with 27 in 2003, and followed up with 24 goals in 2004. In addition, her single season point total of 60 in 2003 (27 goals and six assists) and 56 in 2004 (24 goals and eight assists) are the second and third best single season totals in Marauders history.
Nicole’s 66 career counters are 23 more than the next closest scorer on the list. Her 153 career points (66 goals, 21 assists) earned her the top spot on the school charts by a margin of 37 points. Her 21 career assists put her at 10th best in the school annals.
An NAIA Scholar-Athlete in 2004, who served as a Marauders assistant coach for one season and a graduate assistant coach for two more, Nicole earned a bachelor’s degree in university studies in 2007 and an M.S. in occupational therapy in 2010. The daughter of Curtis and Becky Benedict, Nicole hails from Bismarck, ND, where she graduated from Bismarck High School.
