What's on Tap: No. 21-ranked and top-seeded Minnesota State soccer begins 2017 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Tournament play with a quarterfinal match against eighth-seeded Minnesota Duluth at 1:00 p.m., on Wednesday at The Pitch.
 
Looking Back at Last Week: Minnesota State (15-2-1, 13-1-1 NSIC) played to a 2-0-0 record to finish regular-season play last week. The Mavericks garnered a 2-1 come-from-behind victory at Upper Iowa on Friday and a 4-0 win over Winona State on Sunday at The Pitch.
 
The Champs are Here:
With their 4-0 win over Winona State on Sunday, the Mavericks captured their fifth NSIC regular-season championship — the first since 2015.
 
NSIC Tournament: The Mavericks are the reigning NSIC Tournament Champions. Last season, the Mavericks defeated Northern State (1-0) in the quarterfinals, Bemidji State (3-0) in the semifinals and Augustana (1-0) in the championship match. It was the fifth time the Mavericks won the NSIC Tournament Championship, having previously claimed the title in 2014, 2013, 2011 and 2008. Minnesota State is attempting to win both the NSIC regular-season and tournament championships for the first time since the 2014 season. Last season, junior defender Abby Hausken was named the tournament MVP.
 
NSIC Player of the Week: Maddy Burandt, a junior defensive midfielder, earned NSIC Defensive Player of the Week honors after scoring the game-winning goal in Minnesota State's 2-1 come-from-behind win at Upper Iowa on Friday — which moved the Mavericks into first place in the NSIC standings — and for her role in the Mavericks' 4-0 win over Winona State that clinched the NSIC regular-season title on Sunday at The Pitch.
 
Burandt, who played 161 minutes over the two matches, was part of a defensive unit that limited Upper Iowa and Winona State to one goal and 13 shots combined, including six shots on goal. The shutout against Winona State is Minnesota State's NSIC-leading 14th clean sheet of the season.
 
Minnesota State student-athletes have been named NSIC Player of the Week six times this season. Senior midfielder Lexi Pszanka and junior defender Morgan Seemuth have each earned NSIC Player of the Week honors twice in 2017, while junior defender Abby Hausken has been named an NSIC Player of the Week once.
 
The Shutout Streak: Minnesota State's shutout streak ended at 11 matches when U-Mary became the first NSIC team to score against the Mavericks in 2017 on Oct. 21. Before surrendering goals to U-Mary, the Maverick defense had not allowed a goal since a match at then-No. 14 ranked Grand Valley State on Sept. 10 — spanning 1,045:38 minutes of game time between goals allowed. The program-record 11-match shutout streak is tied for the seventh longest in NCAA DII women's soccer history.
 
NCAA DII Rankings: Minnesota State ranks in the top 10 in three NCAA DII women's soccer statistical categories. They are: shutout percentage (2nd, .778), goals against average (4th, .380) and save percentage (8th, .891).
 
Balanced Attack: With her goal on Sunday, junior forward Marisa Berutti became the 14th different student-athlete to have scored for the Mavericks in 2017. Ten Mavericks have scored at least two goals and six Mavericks have tallied at least four. Senior midfielder Jenny Hoerter leads Minnesota State's balanced attack with seven goals. With her two goals last week, junior forward Lauren Kizlik is second on the team with six goals. Senior midfielder Lexi Pszanka, who scored in Sunday's 4-0 win over Winona State, is third on the team with five goals, including a team-leading four game-winning goals.
 
Playmakers: Sophomore midfielder Alesha Duccini and senior midfielder Jenny Hoerter are tied for the team lead with five assists each. Hoerter leads the team in goals (7) and points (19).     
 
In Goal: Junior goalkeeper Taylor Livermore (8-1-0) and sophomore goalkeeper Ryann Rydeen (7-0-1) have split time in net for the Mavericks this season. Livermore has tallied eight shutouts and Rydeen has record six.
 
Scouting Minnesota Duluth: The Bulldogs (10-5-3, 7-5-3 NSIC), finished the regular season by tying Bemidji State 2-2 on Saturday and defeating Minnesota Crookston 1-0 on Sunday to earn the eighth seed in the NSIC Tournament. UMD's tie with Bemidji State opened the door for the Mavericks to claim the NSIC regular-season title. 
 
Skye Finley, who leads the Bulldogs with seven goals, and Natalie St. Martin, who leads the team in assists with nine, are tied for the team lead with 15 points each.
 
Earlier this season, the Mavericks won a tightly contested match with the Bulldogs 1-0 on a golden goal scored by junior forward Morgan Cottew in 95th minute.

Looking Ahead: The winner of the match between the Mavericks and Bulldogs will move on to face the winner of fourth-seeded Minot State and fifth-seeded U-Mary in a semifinal match on Friday.