What's On Tap: After picking up a pair of season-opening wins at home last week, the fourth-ranked Minnesota State soccer team hits the road this weekend where it will open Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference competition Thursday at Concordia-St. Paul (7 p.m.) before travelling to Allendale, Mich., for a showdown with second-ranked Grand Valley State.

Minnesota State carries a 20-match NSIC unbeaten streak into Thursday's contest with CSP and defeated the Golden Bears, 4-1, at home a year ago.While GVSU is a team the Mavericks have tied in each of the two programs' last three meetings (1-2011, 2-2012), including a 2-2 draw in last year's NCAA Elite Eight that saw the Lakers claim a 5-4 shootout victory in the 10th round.

Starting Strong Out of the Gate: MSU improved to 13-6-0 all-time in season openers with last Friday's 1-0 overtime victory over Truman State. The Mavericks are now 2-1-0 all-time in openers against the Bulldogs and have not lost an opening game since a 2-1 home loss to Truman State in 2006.

Looking Back at Last Week: The Mavericks kicked off 2013 with a bang by defeating Truman State, 1-0, behind senior Courtney Vallarelli's overtime goal in the 96th minute as first-year head coach Brian Bahl earned his first win as a Maverick.

MSU followed that up with a convincing 3-0 romp over then-No. 11 Central Missouri as Vallarelli netted her second game-winning goal in as many matches before freshman Kiana Nickel broke out by scoring her first two career goals to cement the victory.

The Purple and Gold outshot TSU and UCM by a combined margin of 42-12 in the two-game set to go along with a 16-11 advantage in corner kicks.

Class of the Conference: Senior Courtney Vallarelli and junior Breanna Steele were named NSIC Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week, respecitvely on Sept. 9, for their stellar performances on the pitch last week. It was the second weekly conference honor for Vallarelli and the first for a Maverick since she earned the award on Oct. 15, 2012, while it was the first occurence for Steele.

Scouting the Golden Bears: Concordia-St. Paul is coming off a 2012 season that saw the Golden Bears finish 8-9-1 overall and 7-7-1 in NSIC play, which placed them ninth in the league, one spot shy of an NSIC Tournament appearance. CSP sits 0-2-0 after one week of play after suffering losses to UC-Colorado Springs (3-0) and CSU-Pueblo (1-0) last weekend in Pueblo, Colo.

Head coach Steve Bellis is in his 3rdseason at the helm of the Golden Bear  program having amassed a 15-19-1 career record at CSP.  Concordia-St. Paul returns senior Chloe Moore (Mid., 5-7, Lakeville, Minn.) who earned Honorable Mention All-NSIC honors in 2012 and is tied for the team lead with three shots on goal this year. Additionally, sophomore Emma Gartner (GK, 5-6, Springdale, Ark.) made four saves in one start last weekend and leads the Golden Bears in goals against average (1.00) and save percentage (.800).

Inside the MSU vs. CSP Series: Minnesota State is undefeated in nine meetings with Concordia-St. Paul owning a 9-0-0 all-time record in a series dating back to 2002. The Mavericks have outscored CSP 41-4 in those meetings, including a 4-1 home win last year.

Scouting the Lakers:  No. 2 Grand Valley State is coming off a 2012 season that saw the Lakers finish 20-2-3 overall, including an 11-1-1 mark in the GLIAC that crowned them co-conference champions. GVSU returns 14 letterwinners and five starters from last year's team that eliminated MSU in the NCAA Elite Eight before falling to UC-San Diego in the NCAA Final Four.

Head coach Dave DiIanni owns a 197-18-17 career record in 10 years guiding the Lakers, including a pair of national championships. GVSU returns junior Charlie Socia (Mid., 5-4, Portage,Mich.) who was a Second Team All-GLIAC pick in 2012 and is tied for the team lead with one goal this season. Meanwhile, senior Abbey Miller (GK, 5-8, Saginaw, Mich.) has made six saves en route to two shutouts after replacing All-American Chelsea Parise, who was lost to graduation.

Inside the MSU vs. GVSU Series: Minnesota State played Grand Valley State to a pair of ties a year ago, including a 2-2 draw in the NCAA Elite Eight before eventually falling 5-4 in penalty kicks. The Mavericks are 0-1-3 all-time against GVSU having tied the last three meetings in a series dating back to 2010.

Program History: The 2013 season marks the 19th year of women's soccer as a varsity sport at Minnesota State. MSU claimed its first NSIC regular-season championship  last year after capturing NCC regular-season crowns in 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, and 2007.  The Mavericks currently hold a 225-105-25 (.669) all-time record and 51-9-7 (.813) all-time mark in five seasons in the NSIC. MSU has posted 15 consecutive winning seasons dating back to 1998, which ties for the ninth longest streak in NCAA Division II history.

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