Mankato, Minn. --- The second-seeded Minnesota State soccer team (16-1-3, 14-0-1 NSIC) hosts the first two rounds of the NCAA Division II Central Region tournament at the Pitch at Gage Towers. The Mavericks will face the winner of third-seeded Central Oklahoma and sixth-seeded Fort Hays State Sunday at 1 p.m.

This marks the seventh NCAA tournament appearance in program history and fifth time in the past six years MSU has made the 48-team field.

It will be the fourth NCAA tournament for head coach Peter McGahey (fifth season).  McGahey is 2-3 in the NCAA tournament at MSU, while the Mavericks hold a 5-6 all-time record.

Recapping Last Weekend's Action:  Minnesota State defeated Minnesota Duluth 5-0 last Wednesday afternoon in the NSIC quarterfinals behind a goal and an assist from senior Nicole Dooher and two goals from freshman Korey Kronforst.

The Mavericks never got the opportunity to defend last year's NSIC tournament title as they tied Minot State 1-1 in the semifinals before falling to the Beavers in a shootout, 3-2. Junior Tori Meinhardt scored the lone goal for MSU.

Scouting the Bronchos:  Third-seed Central Oklahoma (15-2-3) enters the NCAA tournament after finishing second in the MIAA during the regular season, but falling to Fort Hays State, 2-1, in double overtime of the conference semifinals.  The Bronchos will make their second straight tournament appearance and third in four years.

UCO boasts six double-digit scorers headed by senior forward Brittni Walker (Midwest City, Okla.) who has team-highs in goals (8), assists (5), points (21), and shots (44) for the nation's 48th highest scoring offense.  Senior goalkeeper Meagan Burke (Lakewood, Colo.) has posted a 0.61 GAA and .833 save percentage in 19 starts for the 21st best scoring defense in the country.

Scouting the Tigers:  Sixth-seed Fort Hays State (14-6-1) earned a tournament berth after defeating MIAA regular-season champion Central Missouri, 2-1, in the second overtime of the conference title match. FHSU makes its first-ever national tournament appearance in only the program's second year of existence.

The Tigers' attack is led by two 20-point scorers in freshman Jordan Hester (Olathe, Kan.) and Alexis Aiman (Olathe, Kan.) who have tallied 10-4--24 and 5-10--20 respectively. Sophomore netminder Nicole Barnaba (Gold Coast, Austrailia) has come on to pace the FHSU defense with a 0.66 GAA and .857 save percentage since becoming the starter.

Inside the MSU vs. UCO/FHSU Series: Minnesota State has never faced either of these two programs, but does hold a 9-12-1 all-time mark against MIAA competition.

The Rest of the Field: The other side of the central region bracket takes place in Warrensburg, Mo. on the campus of Central Missouri  and will see fourth-seeded Southwestern Oklahoma State collide with fifth-seeded Minot State Friday for the right to challenge top-seed Central Missouri Sunday afternoon.

Home Sweet Home:  The Mavericks are 9-0-2 at the Pitch at Gage Towers this season and currently in the midst of a school-record 24-game home unbeaten streak dating back to 2010.

Keep on Streaking:  Along with its home unbeaten streak, Minnesota State is unbeaten in its last 18 games which is a new school record.  MSU also tied a school-record last Friday with its 13th consecutive victory.

Climbing the Ranks: After debuting at No. 24 in the NSCAA Poll, MSU dropped from 3rd to 17th this week after spending two weeks in the nation's top spot earlier in the year.  

Nationally Known:  The Mavericks rank 13th in the nation in scoring average with a 2.70 goals/game mark.  Minnesota State is also third in the country in scoring defense at 0.387 goals/game and fifth in shutout percentage with a 0.65 shutout/game mark.   Individually, senior Nicole Dooher sits fourth nationally with 12 assists on the year while fellow senior Brianne West's 10 helpers rank her 14th.  Sophomore Molly McGough ranks third in GAA at 0.32 and 15th with a .875 save percentage.

Stars of the Northern Sun:  Minnesota State lead the NSIC in nearly every major statistical category during the regular season including shots (400), points (160), goals (48), assists (64), and is tied for first in goals allowed (7) and shutouts (12). Dooher is tied for first in the conference in assists (10) and tied for third in points (24). Senior Brianne West and junior Tori Meinhardt are tied for third in the NSIC with eight assists each.

Closing in on the Record:  Senior forward Nicole Dooher is one assist and seven shots on goal away from the MSU single-season records of 13 and 46 in each category, respectively.

Additionally, senior Brianne West is one assist shy of the school career record of 32 set by Amanda Burrows in 2001, while fellow senior Cassie Weik is 180 minutes away from setting the MSU career minutes played mark.

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