Maria Stocke has been there and done that.
She played in all of the Bemidji State women’s soccer team’s 17 games as a freshman, then she was a key part of the Beavers’ 2022 run to the Elite Eight, earning All-NSIC Second Team distinction as a sophomore. Last year, Stocke was named a junior captain, raking in a bevy of accolades from the NSIC, United Soccer Coaches and D2CCA.
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Stocke has hoisted trophies, taken celebratory bus rides and helped forge BSU to the status of a perennial D-II soccer power. Her middle sister, Bri, has been along for the ride the past two seasons.
But what Maria hasn’t done is play on the same team with both of her two sisters. At least not for a full season.
“We got to play one game together in high school,” Maria said. “Our coach threw all three of us out there in the midfield together. But that’s the only time we’ve all been together on the same team.”
Maria, a senior, was joined by her middle sister, Bri, a redshirt sophomore, in 2022. Bri missed nearly the entirety of her freshman year due to injury and was awarded a medical redshirt.
The two of them have been on the same team before, playing in high school and club soccer for the TC Fire.
But Dayna, the youngest sister, was always the missing piece to the sister trio. That was until she arrived at Bemidji State this fall for her freshman season.
“It’s so weird going from watching your sisters to being on a team with them now,” Dayna said. “Everything feels so different. It feels like a blessing.”
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For the first time since high school, the midfielder sisters played in the same game on Aug. 21 in an exhibition against Saint Benedict. This Friday, they will suit up for the real thing at 4 p.m. against Missouri Western State for the season opener at Chet Anderson Stadium.
“It’s really special,” Bri said. “I’ve played with both Maria and Dayna in high school, and Maria in club (soccer). I’ve played with them all of my life. Now I get to play with both of them at the same time.”
The oldest
Maria entered her senior season with an emphasis on taking in all of the experiences that come with playing collegiate soccer for the last time.
“I feel like it’s kind of been hitting me as it goes along,” Maria said. “All of the last firsts, it’s weird, but I’m also excited for it. People always tell you, ‘It goes by in a blink of an eye.’ But you don’t always think it’s actually happening to you. I feel like I was a freshman last year.”
As a senior captain, Maria has more than enough guidance to share with her teammates. It’s those qualities that her sisters have experienced throughout their childhood.
“She’s definitely more of a leader than Dayna and I are,” Bri said. “She’s more charismatic and humble. She’s such a good leader who has all of the big sister qualities.”
The Stocke pipeline to Bemidji State started long before Maria committed to the Beavers. Growing up, the sisters took part in BSU soccer camps. So when Maria got the offer to come to Bemidji State, the choice was obvious. Then her sisters followed.
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“I like to think I had a little bit of influence on them,” Maria said with a laugh. “I like to think I was a good enough role model for them to follow me, but I also think they wanted to come here when they were younger, before I even got here.”
Maria’s intuition was right. Dayna contests that she was the first one of the three to express interest in becoming a Beaver.
“I actually wanted to come here before both of them,” Dayna said. “When they both committed, I was like, “Oh, I don’t know anymore. Maybe I want to do my own thing.’ But I wanted to go here first, so that’s what I did.”
Regardless of how they got here, the Stockes form a family connection in a program rooted in success.
The middlest
Bri had a unique start to her collegiate career. She played in the Beavers’ contest against South Dakota State for six minutes.
She hasn’t played since.
“In my senior year of high school, I developed a bunch of calf problems toward my left foot,” Bri said. “They basically told me there was something wrong with my muscles, and then I found out I had a stress fracture my freshman year. I was in a cast the whole year. We did some more testing, and that’s when I found out I had compartment syndrome and popliteal artery entrapment syndrome.”
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Compartment syndrome is a painful buildup of pressure around your muscles. According to the Cleveland Clinic, chronic compartment syndrome happens over time when you exercise too hard or too often.
Bri had both of her plantaris muscles removed, causing her to miss the better part of her first two seasons. She enters 2024 with three years of eligibility left and a clearer mind from a health perspective.
“Since my surgery, the thought of it has been further in the back of my mind,” Bri said. “My legs have been feeling good. I’ve done a lot of physical therapy, done a lot of massages and seen a lot of therapists outside of college. I feel good, finally. … I definitely feel a lot more fresh this year.”
Bri called her experience growing up as the middle sister “different.”
“I always had Maria to look up to,” she continued. “Maria always set the expectation, the goal and the standard for us. And Dayna, it was always just trying to be the good role model for her for whatever she was doing in life and guide her through it.”
Both Maria and Dayna called Bri crazy, but in a good way.
“She’s spontaneous,” Maria said. “She’s got a little bit of a wild side, but she’s also super sweet. She’s a spunky player who will do good things.”
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The youngest
Unlike Maria and Bri, Dayna’s arrival to Bemidji this fall is filled with entirely new experiences. But being with family settles the nerves.
“I haven’t had time to think, it feels like,” Dayna said. “It’s just been so busy, starting college and everything. It’s all new to me. But it’s been a lot of fun. … It’s a lot easier to go to college with them here. always feel like I have somewhere to go if I need to.”
Dayna enters with an impressive high school resume. She led Andover to a 13-5-2 record during her senior year and a third-place finish at the state tournament. She was an All-State Section Team selection and a two-time All-Northwest Suburban Conference honoree.
In the club soccer scene, Dayna won championships with Boreal FC in 2022 and 2023.
Along with her on-field accomplishments, she’s known as the soft-spoken sister.
“Dayna is more calm,” Maria said. “The more you get to know her, the more she opens up to you. She’s going to do really good here.”
Unfortunately for Beavers head coach Jim Stone, Dayna is the last sister in the Stocke family, which means his sibling trio in the midfield will get just one season together in Bemidji.
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However, the Stockes reuniting at Bemidji State has made family travel plans much easier.
“I haven’t really ever gotten to play together with them before,” Maria said. “When our coach put us together for one game in high school, it was fun, and I’m happy that they’re here with me now. I get to be with Dayna for her freshman year. I get to watch Dayna and Bri grow. That’s special to me.”
The Trust Project
