What's On Tap: The No. 1 rated Minnesota State soccer team looks to continue its 14-match win streak as they battle Minnesota Duluth on Friday at 6 p.m. before traveling to St. Cloud State to take on the Huskies on Sunday at 1 p.m.

The Mavericks are 14-0-0 heading into this weekend, the best start in program history. The Mavericks retained the No. 1 ranking for the second-straight week in the NSCAA/Continental Tire rankings.

In addition, the Mavericks football team moved up to No. 1 in the national polls, marking the first time that two MSU programs were ranked at the top of the polls in school history.
 
Looking Back at Last Week: The Mavericks picked up a couple of wins last weekend against Wayne State and No. 22 Augustana in Mankato at The Pitch. MSU's offense exploded for 12 goals in the two matches.

The Mavericks took on Wayne State Saturday afternoon at The Pitch and defeated the Wildcats 7-0. Six different Mavericks recorded a goal including freshman Caitlin Foley who scored the first of her career for the Purple and Gold. Sophomore Kiana Nickel scored two goals in the win and senior Emily Moris added a goal and an assist. Senior Rebecca Pederson and redshirt freshman Laura Schwickerath each added two assists in the win as well.

On Sunday the Mavericks faced a tough challenge in No. 22 Augustana and came out with one of their best performances of the season defeating the Vikings 5-1. Nickel once again led the Mavericks producing two goals and one assist. Junior Korey Kronforst tallied her team-leading 11th goal of the season and added an assist while sophomore Dana Savino found the back of the net marking her eighth goal of the season.

Nickel's Big Weekend: Sophomore Kiana Nickel had two of her best performances last weekend on the pitch. Nickel produced nine points including four goals and assist in the Mavericks two wins. Her performance helped her garner NSIC Offensive Player of the Week honors this week. She is now tied for the team lead in points with junior Korey Kronforst at 24.

NSCAA Rankings: The Mavericks retained the No. 1 spot in the lastest NSCAA/Continental Tire rankings. It's the first time in program history MSU has been the No. 1 team for two straight weeks.

Other Maverick programs that have been ranked No. 1 include the men's basketball team in 2005, wrestling twice during the 2007-08 season, womens basketball three times during the 2008-09 season, football six straight weeks during the 2013 season and football again in 2014.

Scouting the Bulldogs: UMD comes into the weekend witha 6-8-0 overall record and 6-5-0 in the NSIC. Last weekend the Bulldogs went 1-1 after dropping a contest to Minot State 3-1 before defeating the University of Mary 3-0.

Head coach Greg Cane has been the head coach since the inception of the program in 1994 and currently holds a record of 226-125-33. The Bulldogs are led by senior Maureen Stormont (F, Stillwater, Minn.) who curently leads the NSIC with 29 points and 13 goals while adding 3 assists. Senior Marissa Rosa (GK, Champlin, Minn.) has started 10 games in goal for UMD boasting a 5-5-0 record and a goals against average of 1.29.

The Bulldogs are giving up 1.36 goals a game while scoring 1.43. They are outshooting their opponents 307-154 and have amassed 87 corner kicks to its opponents 45.

Inside the MSU vs. UMD Series: The Mavericks and Bulldogs series goes back to 1995 with MSU leading the all-time matchup going 16-8-3. Last season the Mavericks defeated the Bulldogs during the NSIC tournament in a shootout 3-2.

Scouting the Huskies: St. Cloud State currently holds an overeall record of 4-10 and 3-8 in the NSIC. The Huskies lost a pair of 2-1 matches against the University of Mary and Minot State last weekend.

SCSU head coach Gretta Arvesen is in her first season at the helm of the Huskies program boasting a 4-10 record. The Huskies are led in scoring by senior Taige Thoreson (F, St. Charles, Minn.) who has scored eight goals and has two assists for ten points. Redshirt senior Kenzie Hanzlik and redshirt sophomore Brittany Plombon have split time in goal each holding a 2-5-0 record.

The Huskies are being outscored on the season 27-12 and average just .86 goals a game. They are also being outshot by their opponents 104-79.
 
Inside the MSU vs. SCSU Series: The Mavericks defeated the Huskies 7-2 last season and hold the all-time series lead with a record of 22-5-1

Program History: The 2014 season marks the 20th year of women's soccer as a varsity sport at Minnesota State. MSU claimed its second-straight NSIC regular-season championship last year after capturing NCC regular-season crowns in 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, and 2007.  The Mavericks currently hold a 254-109-27 (.686) all-time record and 105-24-15 (.781) all-time mark in seven seasons in the NSIC. MSU has posted 16 consecutive winning seasons dating back to 1998.

MSU Nationaly: The Mavericks rank in the top ten in NCAA Division II in nine different categories including won-loss-tied percentage (1st), shutouts percentage (T-2nd), goals per game (4th), goals (4th), assists per game (5th), assists (5th), points per game (5th), points (5th) and goals against average (9th)

The Road Ahead: The Mavericks will close out the regular season as they travel to Upper Iowa on October 31st and then return home for senior day on November 2nd.

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