Mankato, Minn. --- Minnesota State soccer plays Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference matches against Wayne State on Friday and Augustana on Sunday. Friday's match is scheduled for 1:00 p.m., at The Pitch and Sunday's match is slated for a 1:00 p.m., start in Sioux Falls, S.D.
Looking Back at Last Week: Minnesota State (5-3-1, 4-2-0 NSIC) compiled a 1-1 record in conference play last week. The Mavericks lost 3-1 at Bemidji State in Bemidji, Minn., on Saturday before rebounding to defeat Minnesota Crookston 4-0 on Sunday afternoon in Crookston, Minn. The Mavericks are fourth in the NSIC.
Offensive Groove: After scoring four goals their first four matches, the Mavericks have tallied 18 goals over their last five matches -- an average of 3.6 goals per game. Over that span, Minnesota State has compiled a 4-1-0 record, while outscoring its opponents 18-3.
Contributing Underclassmen: Sophomore
Morgan Cottew, and freshmen
Taylor Kenealy and
Alesha Duccini have played a large role in the Mavericks' offensive resurgence over their last five matches. Cottew leads the team in goals (6) and points (14). Kenealy is right behind Cottew -- second on the team -- in goals (5), and tied with senior
Kiana Nickel for the second-most points (12). Duccini is tied for third on the team in goals (4) with senior Nickel. Duccini has 10 points this season -- the fourth-highest total on the team.
All-Time Mavericks: Senior
Kiana Nickel scored two goals and recorded one assist for a career-high five points in Minnesota State's 4-0 win at Minnesota Crookston on Sunday afternoon. With the five points, Nickel moved into a tie for sixth place with Brittany Henry (2009-12) on the Maverick's career-points list with 89.
Stingy Defense: The Minnesota State defense has recorded shutout victories in four of its last five matches. The Mavericks' shutout wins came against Minnesota Duluth (5-0, Sept. 18), Sioux Falls (4-0, Sept. 23) Southwest Minnesota State (4-0, Sept. 25), and Minnesota Crookston (4-0, Oct. 2). Junior
Lexi Pszanka and sophomore
Abby Hausken have led a defense that is holding the opposition to 9.2 shots per game, while the Maverick offense is taking 20.1 shots per game.
Sharing the Net: This season, the Mavericks have played all three of their goalkeepers: freshman
Alexa Rabune (2-3-1), freshman
Ryann Rydeen (2-0-0) and sophomore
Taylor Livermore (1-0-0).
Scouting Wayne State: Wayne State (6-2-2, 3-2-2 NSIC), comes into Friday's match at The Pitch in 7th place in the conference standings. The Wildcats defeated MSU Moorhead 5-0 on Sunday in Wayne, Neb., for its second straight win.
Carys Hund is leading the Wildcat offense in goals (4) and points (8). Natalie Rech has garnered three goals and one assist for seven points.
Scouting Augustana: The Vikings (6-3-1, 5-1-1 NSIC), who defeated Northern State 2-1 at home on Sunday, bring a five-game winning streak into Sunday's meeting with the Mavericks. The Vikings are second in the NSIC behind No. 13 Minot State.
Augustana's offense is led by Emily Jacobson, who has tallied team highs in assists (5) and points (9). Jacobson has also scored twice. Samantha Tymkowicz has contributed four goals and eight points for the Vikings.
Facing Wayne State: The Mavericks have never lost in 11 meetings with Wayne State. The two teams played their first match in 1998. Last year, Minnesota State won 6-0.
Facing Augustana: Minnesota State, which is 19-2-0 all-time against Augustana, has won nine straight meetings between the two teams -- dating back to 2009. In 2015, the Mavericks won 2-1 and 2-0.
