What's on Tap: After wrapping up the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Regular Season Championship last weekend, the Mavericks jump back into action as they host the eighth-seeded Concordia- St. Paul Golden Bears Wednesday afternoon at The Pitch in the opening round of the NSIC Tournament. The opening kick is set for 1 p.m.

Minnesota State finished the regular season with an overall record of 16-1-1 and a 14-0-1 NSIC record. The 16 wins is tied for second most wins in a regular season in program history.  Minnesota State achieved this benchmark back in 2002 and set a record for most wins in a season in 2014 when they held a perfect 18-0-0 record in the regular season.

Looking Back at Last Week: The sixth-rated Mavericks traveled to Winona, Minn., last Friday as they defeated the Warriors of Winona State, 2-1, and then returned home to beat the Peacocks of Upper Iowa University in a 4-0 win, to close out the regular season on Sunday.

In Friday's 2-1 win over the Warriors, neither team was able to find the back of the net until the second half.  At. 52:03, freshman Abby Hausken (Oakdale, Minn.) and senior Korey Kronforst (Cary, Ill.) connected with junior Kiana Nickel (Wayzata, Minn.) to put the Mavericks up 1-0.  Nickel struck again at the 61:57 mark of the game as Kroforst found her again for what proved to be the game-winning goal.  Winona State countered with 2:32 left in the match, but it wasn't enough as Minnesota State held on for their 15th win on the year. Two days later, the sixth-rated Mavericks came home to host Upper Iowa in their final regular-season game.  Just 4:31 in to the match, Kronforst tallied her team-leading 14th goal of the season.  The play was set up this time by Nickel.  Then, at the 18:40 mark senior Jessica Bowe (Anoka, Minn.) found the back of the net as Nickel lofted a ball up to senior Emily Erickson (Woodbury, Minn.) who crossed the ball over to Bowe in the box to finish off the play.  Freshman Morgan Cottew (Minneapolis, Minn.) capped off the first frame with a goal at the 37:31 mark on a ball that was served in by Erickson.  Kronforst hammered one more ball home at 74:40 for MSU's final tally on a throw in by Hausken.  That goal set Kronforst above any other player in the NSIC as she now is the new holder of the All-Time NSIC points record at 106 and is now the co-owner of the All-Time NSIC goals record of 44.  Kronforst NSIC numbers now read 44 goals and 16 assists for 106 points against NSIC opponents.  Maureen Stormont (UMD, 2011-14) was the previous owner of both records.

Scouting the Golden Bears: Concordia- St. Paul finished the regular season with an overall record of 8-9-1 and 7-7-1 in the NSIC.  They are coming off of a weekend in which they shutout Upper Iowa 4-0 and then lost to Winona State by a score of 2-1.

Head coach Steve Bellis is in his 5th season at the helm of the Golden Bear's program and holds a record of 33-54-4 at CU. Concordia-St. Paul is paced by senior Jessica Bianchi (8-5--21), junior Chelsie Lindsay (5-6--16) and senior Alahna Anderson (3-3--9). In net for the Golden Bears, senior Emma Gartner has started 16 of 17 games, owns a 7-8-1 record and has allowed 1.12 goals/game.  CSP finished out the regular season averaging 1.529 goals per game and allowed an average of 1.357 goals per game.

Inside the MSU vs. CU Series: MSU leads the all-time series against CSP with a record of 12-0-0.  The Mavericks shutout the Golden Bears earlier this year by a score of 3-0. Bowe, Nickel, and freshman Maddy Burandt each found the back of the net in the game while Kronforst assisted on all three markers.

Minnesota State in the NSIC Tourney: The Mavericks will look to defend their title as NSIC Tournament Champs for the third year in a row.  MSU has won postseason tournament championship in 2008, 2011, 2013 and in 2014.

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 276-111-28 (.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 (Lakeville, Minn.) has played 28 games in her career as a Maverick. Within the 28 matches the Lakeville, Minn., native holds a 19-1-2 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 16-1-1 on the season, allowing just nine goals over the 18 game stretch.

Milestones: Korey Kronforst broke the All-Time NSIC points record of 104 this last weekend as she tallied two assists and two goals for six points vs. Winona State and Upper Iowa.  She owns the record at 104 points. She also tied the All-Time NSIC goals record of 44 with her two goals on the weekend.

Rk.  Player                              PTS
1.    Korey Kronforst (MSU)        44-16--104    
2.    Maureen Stormont (UMD)       44-14--102

Kronforst also became the all-time leader in shots on goal with 136.  Hoeppner, as of right now, sits in first in goals against average all-time in the program, and Emily Erickson moved into the eight spot on the all-time MSU charts for minutes played.

NSCAA Rankings: Minnesota State is ranked 3rd in the 10th edition of the regular season NSCAA poll after moving up form the  #6 spot from the last installment, Oct. 27th.

Top-Notch Stats: Of the team statistics that the NCAA highlights, Minnesota ranks in the top-10 in seven of them.  The Mavericks rank 2nd in assists per game (3.61), 4th in points per game (10.28), 7th in scoring offence (3.33 goals per game), 2nd in total assists ( 65), 6th in total goals (60), 4th in total points (185), and T-4th in win% (.917).  

Individually, Kronforst ranks 7th in assists per game (.63), T-6th in points per game (2.50), T-8th in total assists (10), and T-11th in total points (40). Hoeppner ranks 7th in save percentage (.901) and 16th in goals against average (.525).

Stars of the Northern Sun:  Five times this season, a total of four Mavericks have garnered Player of the Week honors with Korey Kronforst (most recently) taking home her second title of the season Oct. 5th.  Kronforst is also the first player in the NSIC this season to receive recognition as NSCAA Player of the week. Senior Lauren Hoeppner was named NSIC Goalkeeper of the Week  Sept. 28th while Freshman Morgan Cottew and sophomore Abby Nordeen received honors the Sept. 21st and Kronforst took home the title in the first week of the 2015 season. The Mavericks currently are at the top of the NSIC standings having outscored their oppositions by a mark of 54-8.

The Road Ahead: Pending Wednesday's game, Minnesota State will potentially play  the winner of Winona State and St. Cloud State on Friday November 6th.