Mariel Wilner

[quote]Mariel[apos]s reputation as a player is quickly becoming her reputation as a coach - a tireless worker that is always improving herself and everyone around her. She is tremendous at building a goalkeeper[apos]s confidence while pushing them beyond their limits. Her attention to detail and love for the game is contagious and is already making a lasting impression on the Penn State program.[quote] Nittany Lion Head Coach Erica Walsh

Mariel Wilner is entering her third season as the volunteer assistant coach. A former Harvard assistant, Wilner joined Erica Walsh in her move to Penn State after spending the 2006 season with the Crimson. Wilner also served briefly as the goalkeeper coach at Northeastern, where she was a member of the team from 2003-05.

Already a proven instructor, Wilner guided current Nittany Lion goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher to 2007 and 2008 First Team All-America honors as well as Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2007. Before Penn State, she helped Harvard goalkeeper Lauren Mann to 2006 Ivy League Rookie of the Year honors.

Away from Penn State, Wilner is a director for World Cup winner and Olympic gold-medal coach Tony DiCicco[apos]s SoccerPlus Camps. Additionally, she serves on the Region I ODP Goalkeeper staff and has been an instructor for the NSCAA Goalkeeping Institute since 2006. She also is currently the head coach of the U-16 Central Penn United Spartans who she has coached since the summer of 2007.

A native of Owings Mills, Md. Wilner began her collegiate playing career at the University of Maryland from 2002-03 and eventually transferred to Northeastern in the spring of 2003. She was the starting goalkeeper at NU her junior and senior years, earning second team All-New England honors in 2005. Wilner garnered conference player-of-the-week honors twice during her undergraduate career.

She finished second on the all-time goals against list at Northeastern with a 1.49 average through two seasons with the Huskies. She posted seven shutouts with the Huskies and racked up 3316 minutes over 36 contests. At Maryland, Wilner started the first 12 games of her career, had 30 saves, and 1.5 shutouts.

She set the Maryland state record for shutouts (38) during her prep career and earned All-State, All-County and All-League accolades at McDonogh School.

Wilner graduated magna cum laude in 2007 from Northeastern University with a B.S. in business administration. She is set to earn her Master[apos]s in Business Administration from Penn State[apos]s Smeal College of Business this spring. She has also earned the NSCAA National Diploma.