IWLCA Celebrates 2023 Division I Players of the Year

Four student-athletes honored

The IWLCA has named four All-Americans from Division I as positional Players of the Year. The Division’s selection committee has also chosen one of the positional honorees as the Player of the Year.

DIVISION I

Izzy Scane earns the honor of Division I Player of the Year after guiding the No. 1 Northwestern Wildcats to their eighth NCAA Division I National Championship. Scane finished as the nation's leading goal scorer, averaging 4.95 goals per game. Her 99 goals this season are first in program history. She has earned five IWCLA Player of the Week awards, her most recent win coming after she set the school’s career (288) and single-season (99) goal record on the same goal in the National Championship game. Scane is a two-time IWCLA First Team All-American and she also claims this year’s Attacker of the Year honor for her outstanding output on offense. Scane was named the Big Ten Conference Attacker of the Year, First Team All-Big Ten Honoree, and is also listed as a Tewaarton Award Finalist for 2023.

Jillian Wilson earns Midfielder of the Year recognition after becoming the 22nd player in Loyola program history to earn First-Team All-America honors. She is a true two-way player, who led the team at the draw circle (198 draw controls) and with 61 goals. Wilson helped the team rank seventh in the country in goals and first in the NCAA in draw control percentage. Wilson ranks fourth in the NCAA in draw controls per game and is a Tewaaraton Award Top-25 Semifinalist and two-time Patriot League Midfielder of the Year. She broke the Loyola single-season and career draw control record, while also breaking the Patriot League single-season draw control. Her NCAA-leading 198 draws rank seventh in NCAA Division I history. She led the team in goals, caused turnovers (22) and draw controls, and was third in points (80).

Sam Thacker, a Lutherville, Maryland native, led Denver with 53 caused turnovers and ranks second on the team with 59 ground balls and third with 45 draw controls. She is one of six players in the country with at least 40 caused turnovers, 40 ground balls and 30 draw controls, and is one of two with 50-plus caused turnovers and ground balls and 40 or more draw controls. Thacker was a unanimous selection for the second straight season as the Big East Defensive Player of the Year and a member of the All-Big East First Team. This season, Thacker became the first player in Denver history to be listed as a two-time IWLCA First Team All-American.

Delaney Sweitzer played a vital role in Syracuse’s success throughout the season, starting every game in goal this season. She ranks eighth in the nation in save percentage (.505), seventh in saves (185), and 12th in goals-against average. In addition, Sweitzer is third nationally in ground balls per game (3.71). The ACC Goalkeeper of the Year and first-team All-ACC honoree posted 10 or more saves in eight games in 2023.