Women's Soccer | 11/14/2015 12:56:00 PM

What's on Tap: Minnesota State received the second seed in the Central Region of the NCAA DII Soccer Tournament on Monday evening, giving them a first round bye and the privilege of hosting the first and second rounds in Mankato.

Minnesota State's record is now 17-1-2 on the 2015 season as they look to continue their winning ways against the Vikings of Augustana University, a team the Mavericks earlyeir in the season by a score of 2-1.  The game is set for a 1:00 p.m. start on Sunday at The Pitch in Mankato.

Looking Back at Last Week: The third-rated Mavericks hosted Concordia St. Paul in the first round of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, Wednesday afternoon.

The Mavericks were tested as the Golden Bears were within arms distance at the end of the first half of action with Minnesota State leading 2-1.  Sophomore Lexi Pszanka tallied both goals for the Mavericks in the first 45 minutes of play.  Both of the strikes came off of corner kick opportunities.  The first marker drew a scramble in front of the Golden Bear net where Pszanka was able to come way with the ball clean, and drill the ball home for her second goal of the season.  Her second goal came off of a corner kick by freshman Abby Hausken.  Pszanka found the ball and drilled it home for a 2-0 lead for MSU.  CSP countered with two and a half minutes remaining in the half as McKenzie Buck and Kelli Heytens connected to cut the Mavericks lead to one.  

The second half of play was all MSU, as the Mavericks outscored Concordia-St. Paul by a  clip of 4-1.  Just 10 minutes into the second half, senior Korey Kronforst and freshman Maddy Burandt scored goals one minute apart from each other to give MSU a two goal cushion.  CSP answered just under 10 minutes later ass Jordan Rowan-Stafford recorded her second goal on the year.  Freshmen Julia Zach and Morgan Cottew put the game out of reach as they both scored at 79:10 and 80:08 to cement the victory for the Mavericks.

Scouting the Vikings: No. 18 Augustana comes into the match with an overall record of 19-2-1. Augustana recently claimed victors to the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Tournament Championship, defeating Winona State by a score of 1-0 on November 8, in Mankato.  The Vikings also won their first-round of the NCAA DII Women's Soccer Central Region game vs. Harding University by a clip of 2-1 on Friday, Nov. 13 in Mankato.

Head coach Brandon Barkus is in his 10th season as the head coach of the Vikings and has a record of 127-100-18. The Vikings are led by sophomore Samantha Tymkowicz who has tallied 35 points on the year and senior Stephanie Stevens who has generated eight goals and seven assists for 23 points in 2015. Sophomore goalkeeper Taylor Machacek is 19-2-1 on the year and has posted a .56 goals against average along with 11 shutouts. As a team the Vikings have scored 39 goals compared to their opponents 12. They are also outshooting their opponents 377-207, averaging 17.14 shots per game.

Inside the MSU vs. Augustana Match Up: The Mavericks hold the all-time series lead against the Vikings amassing a 18-2-0 record in a series that dates back to 2000.

Minnesota State in the NCAA Playoffs: MSU has made nine appearances in the NCAA tournament (2003, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012 2013,and 2014). They will be making their fifth-straight apperance and own an overall record of 5-8-3.

Program History: The 2015 season marks the 21st year of women's soccer as a varsity sport at Minnesota State. MSU claimed its fourth-straight NSIC regular-season championship this year after capturing NCC regular-season crowns in 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, and 2007.  The Mavericks currently hold a 277-111-29 (.699) all-time record and 81-11-8 (.850 all-time mark in six seasons in the NSIC).  MSU has posted 17 consecutive winning seasons dating back to 1998.
 
Between the Pipes: Senior goalkeeper Lauren Hoeppner has played 30 games in her career as a Maverick. Within the 30 matches the Lakeville, Minn., native holds a 20-1-3 record with 11 shutouts and a .47 goals against average in her career.  Hoeppner also garnered NSIC Goalkeeper of the Week accolades Sept. 28th, 2015 Hoeppner now owns a record of 17-1-2 on the season, allowing just 12 goals over the 20 game stretch.

NSCAA Rankings: Minnesota State is ranked 9th in the final installment of the regular season NSCAA poll after moving down from the  #3 spot in the last edition November 4th.

The Road Ahead: Pending Sundays match up with Augustana, with a win, the Mavericks have will potentially host the third round of the NCAA DII Women's Soccer Tournament in Mankato.  Central Missouri who is the number one seed in the Central Region is playing Minot State on Sunday as well.  If Central Missouri wins, Minnesota State would travel to Warrensburg, Missouri to play against the Mules, pending a win on Sunday.  If Minot State defeats Central Missouri, then Minot State travel to Mankato to the Mavericks due to a higher seed.