AMHERST, N.Y. — Women's soccer freshman Macayla Hansen (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) has been named the 2026 Daemen University Female Newcomer of the Year. The announcement was made at the 2026 Wildcat Night of Honors, an annual event held on campus to recognize the achievements of the university's intercollegiate teams and student-athletes.

Hansen had a standout first season with the Wildcats, garnering First Team All-ECC accolades. She logged 13 points with five goals and three assists, finishing third on the squad in goals and points, and was tied for fourth in assists. The freshman found the back of the net in four different matches. She notched her first career goal to help the Wildcats defeat St. Thomas Aquinas. Hansen also scored the game-winning goal in a 2-0 non-conference win over Roberts Wesleyan and added a goal against Molloy. The midfielder also scored in Daemen's ECC tournament first-round win over Queens, converting a penalty kick. 

Hansen helped the Wildcats finish with an 11-6-1 record, including a 4-2-1 ECC mark. Daemen defeated Queens in the first round of the ECC Tournament before falling to Mercy in the semifinals.

Additional nominees for the 2026 Female Newcomer of the Year were Kaitlin Mettler (Royalton, N.Y.) of women's soccer and Sadie Schlesselman (Lancaster, N.Y.) of women's lacrosse. 

Hansen becomes the second women's soccer player to earn the Female Newcomer of the Year award, which was instituted following the 2016-17 school year. 
 
FEMALE NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
2017 - Jamie Boyar, Soccer
2018 - Amber Custodi, Triathlon
2019 - Isa McCaffrey, Volleyball, Katie Titus, Basketball
2020 - Courtney Merrill, Triathlon
2021 - Alahna Paige, Basketball
2022 - Marcy Colca, Cross Country/Track & Field
2023 - Kylie Miranto, Soccer & Lacrosse
2024 - Charlotte Koerber, Volleyball
2025 - Ne'vaeh Buntley, Basketball
2026 - Macayla Hansen, Soccer

We will be featuring each of the major award winners throughout the week on www.daemenwildcats.com.

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Daemen University features the premier NCAA Division II athletics program in the Buffalo-Niagara region, sponsoring 17 intercollegiate teams. For the latest information on Daemen Athletics, follow the Wildcats via social media on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, or sign up to receive customizable news alerts, e-mail newsletters and weekly schedule alerts.