Great Lakes Wire

The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) has announced the recipients of the Fall 2023 Commissioner's Awards. Maria Storm and Brooke Pietila, both from Northern Michigan University's women's soccer team, were recognized for their achievements. This marks the first time that two NMU women's soccer athletes have received this honor.

The awards are given after each athletic season—fall, winter, and spring—to six female and six male student-athletes who excel in academics and athletics. Eligible recipients must be juniors, seniors, or graduate students with grade-point averages calculated on a 4.0 scale.

Brooke Pietila was a key player for the Wildcats in midfield. She started in 19 matches and was among the top players in minutes played, assists, and points for her team. Her accolades for the 2023 season include a GLIAC Commissioners Award, Second-Team Scholar All-America, First-Team All-Region, First-Team All-GLIAC, GLIAC All-Tournament Team honors, and CSC Academic All-District recognition.

Maria Storm also played an essential role as part of the Wildcat starting lineup. She participated in every match and ranked second in minutes played among field players. Her contributions to defense earned her several awards: GLIAC Commissioners Award, Third-Team All-America, First-Team Scholar All-America, First-Team All-Region honors; she was named GLIAC Defensive Player of the Year; received First Team All-GLIAC and GLIAC All-Tournament Team recognition; she also scored two game-winning goals during the season.

Including Pietila and Storm's achievements this fall, four Wildcats have earned this award over three award periods: Minnie Bittell (LAX - Spring 2023) and Ondrej Zach (MSWIM - Winter 2022/2023). The last Wildcat to receive it before them was Shayla Huebner from Track and Field during Winter 2018-2019.

A complete list of previous GLIAC Commissioner's Award recipients is available online.