MEQUON, Wis. – The Northern Collegiate Hockey Association announced its major award winners along with the All-Conference and All-Freshman Teams for the 2025-26 women's hockey season on Tuesday afternoon. The Concordia University Wisconsin women's hockey team shattered the program record with eight total honorees.
 
The Falcons swept the major awards, as head coach Steve Fabiilli was named Coach of the Year, Mackaylan McGown earned Co-Player of the Year honors and Abby Hansberger was selected Freshman of the Year.
 
"It's incredible to see so many honorees from our team and to see their outstanding season being recognized," said Steve Fabiilli. "It's a testament to their work ethic, dedication, and skill.  I'm extremely proud of each of them for earning this honor, and equally proud of the entire team whose collective effort helped make their success possible."
 
Concordia Wisconsin also placed four players on the All-Conference Team: Brenna-Grace Dittmer, Abby Hansberger, Mackaylan McGown and Makayla Spejcher. Hansberger additionally earned a spot on the All-Freshman Team.
 
Steve Fabiilli
Steve Fabiilli becomes the first Concordia Wisconsin coach to be named NCHA Coach of the Year. He guided the Falcons to their best conference finish in program history, placing second with a 16-1-1 mark. The Falcons also set a new program record for wins in a season and currently hold 24 victories. CUW is having its best season in program history at 24-2-1, is host its first-ever home NCHA Slaats Cup Semifinals contest on Saturday and has broken multiple individual records. Concordia Wisconsin ranks among the top 10 in eight statistical categories in NCAA Division III.
 
Mackaylan McGown
A junior forward from Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota, McGown is the first Falcon to earn NCHA Player of the Year honors. She shares the award with Riley Johnson of Adrian. This marks McGown's third career NCHA honor after earning All-Conference recognition in 2025 and All-Freshman Team accolades in 2024.
 
"This award means everything to me. It is truly a testament to our team and how hard we have worked all season," said McGown. "I am so grateful for my teammates and my coaches, I owe it all to them. I also want to say a big thank you to my family, especially my parents and my sister. They are my biggest support system. All of these people mean so much to me, and I would not be here without any of them."
 
McGown leads the Falcons with 20 goals and ranks second on the team with 37 points, adding 17 assists. She also scored the team's lone shorthanded goal this season. McGown ranks second nationally with 381 faceoff wins. She recorded a hat trick against Aurora and posted two four-point performances during the season.
 
Abby Hansberger
A freshman forward from Elk River, Minnesota, Hansberger becomes the second Falcon to earn NCHA Freshman of the Year honors and the first since Makayla Spejcher in 2023. Hansberger leads the Falcons and ranks second in the conference with 46 points on 19 goals and 27 assists. Her assist total also ranks second in the conference. She recorded five game-winning goals and scored twice on the power play, including goals against Lake Forest and Adrian. Hansberger posted hat tricks against Wisconsin-Stevens Point and St. Norbert and recorded a three-assist performance against Aurora.
 
"It is truly an honor to be named NCHA Freshman of the Year. It is incredibly rewarding to see all the hard work and dedication pay off. I am so grateful for my teammates and coaches who push me to be better every day I would not be in this position without their support," said Hansberger. "My family means the world to me, and their constant encouragement has made this achievement even more special."
 
Makayla Spejcher
A senior forward from Green Bay, Wisconsin, Spejcher earns her third career All-Conference selection after previously being honored in 2023 and 2025. Spejcher was the first Falcon to achieve the combination of Freshman of the Year, All-Conference and All-Freshman honors during her career. She has totaled 33 points this season on 17 goals and 16 assists. Spejcher scored five power-play goals and added two game-winning goals against Adrian and Aurora. She also recorded a four-point performance at Dubuque.
 
Brenna-Grace Dittmer
A junior defender from Chatham-Kent, Ontario, Dittmer earns All-Conference recognition for the second consecutive season. Dittmer recorded 19 points with two goals and 17 assists while anchoring a defensive unit that allowed the second-lowest goals-against average in the conference at 1.44. She also recorded a three-assist game at Trine.
 
Other All-Conference forwards included Courtney Ben and Riley Johnson of Adrian and Natalie Meeder of Dubuque. The defenders were Parker Beyer and Paige Pomerleau of Adrian, Claire Healy of St. Norbert and Ella Spies of Marian. Jillian Traver of Marian and Kiera Stack of Adrian were the goaltenders.
 
All-Freshman Team forwards included Maddy Loe of Adrian and Natalie Meeder of Dubuque. Defense selections were Sophia LaColla and Elizabeth Sturgeon of Adrian, while Lily Peterfeso of Lake Forest was named the goaltender.
 
The eight overall selections are a program record, while the four All-Conference selections match the total from the 2025 team.