Mankato, Minn.— The Minnesota State women's soccer team opens its 2010 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference  this weekend at The Pitch at Gage Towers. The Mavericks square off with rival St. Cloud State,  Saturday at 1 p.m., then take on Concordia Sunday at 1 p.m.

Looking ahead: The Mavericks will hit the road next weekend, Sept. 24- 25, where they will head to University of Mary on Friday at 3 p.m. , then travel south to dual with Northern State on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Weekend Recap: MSU went 0-2-0 in its home opening weekend. On Friday, the Mavericks were blanked by Regis University 4-0. Ranger forward Marissa Davis had two goals in the first half. Jordan Miller had both assists on the goal and later netted a goal herself at 47:04. The Mavericks were outshot 12-4 in the match. Sunday morning the Mavericks squared of with fifth-ranked Metro State. The Roadrunners showed their speed and rallied to a 2-0 lead at the half. The Mavericks tallied two shots on goal in the game compared to the four Metro State put up.

About St. Cloud State: The Huskies are 2-2-0 coming into the match. St. Cloud State is lead by third year coach Becky Heiberger. Most recently,  the Huskies notched a 2-1 win off Minnesota State, Moorehead and a 3-1 over University of Minnesota, Crookston. Junior Alexandra Pafko leads the Huskies with two goals this season. Kenzie Hanzlik is 2-2 in the nets and owns a .800 save percentage for St. Cloud State.

MSU/ SCSU History: The Mavericks  lead the series 16-5-2. The Huskies captured an 1-0 overtime win in 2009. In the last 10 matchups, MSU has owned 8-1-1 record against St. Cloud State. The Mavericks have outscored the Huskies 58-20, in the 15 years the teams have played each other. Twelve of the 22 times the schools have played, one team has been shutout. Eight of the matches have been decided by one goal or less.

About Concordia: The Golden Bears are 1-2-1 this season so far. Concordia is coming off a 3-1 victory over Northwestern. The Golden Bears are coached by Joe Alianiello and Whitney Leverington. The team is lead by sophomore forward Arielle Stimson, who has three goals and two assists in four games. Goaltenders Megan Kurtz and Kayla Kuczaboski have split time this year, each getting two starts. Kurtz has an impressive .857 save percentage this season.

MSU/ Concordia History: Minnesota State owns  the all-time seriers over Concordia 6-0. The mavericks have outscored the Golden Bears 33-2 in the six matches. In the six meetings,  MSU has shutout Concordia four of them.

Season Outlook: The Minnesota State women’s soccer team has recorded 12 winning seasons in a row and looks to extend the streak this season. As the team enters its the third season with head coach, Peter McGahey, MSU hopes to make it back to the NCAA postseason tournament for the third year in a row. Last season, the Mavericks finished with a 13-5-2 record that led them to their fifth NCAA postseason tournament in seven years. The Mavericks generated a 9-3-1 NSIC record to finish fourth in the conference. The Mavericks head into their conference schedule with a 1-3 record. MSU has one nonconference game left, against University of North Dakota, Oct. 3.