MANKATO, Minn.--- #21 Minnesota State, the second seed at the 2018 NSIC Soccer Tournament, advanced to the semifinals and will take on the third seed, Augustana.

Our History: The 2018 season marks the school's 24th season playing women's soccer. The Mavericks are 329-119-36 (.717) in 484 games since their inception as a varsity sport in 1995. Minnesota State is in its 10th season in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and owns a 131-15-11 (.869) record in 157 games during conference play. Over the course of history, MSU has claimed 10 regular season conference championships, including five NCC championships and five NSIC championships. The Mavericks have also won six NSIC Tournament championships in the 10 years of being in the conference. Minnesota State made its 11th appearance in the NCAA Tournament last season. The Mavericks own a 7-8-4 overall record in NCAA postseason play, wining twice on shootout occasions and losing three times.

Looking Back at Last Time: The Mavericks (16-2-1) defeated Concordia-St. Paul on Wednesday at The Pitch in the NSIC Quarterfinals by a score of 4-0.

Senior Morgan Cottew scored the first goal of postseason play for the Mavericks 15 minutes into the match. Cottew received a deep ball from senior Abby Hausken and poked it past the keeper coming off her line. Cottew scored a second goal of the game and 10th of the season in the second half. Freshmen Jenny Vetter and Cassidy Joyce also scored in the second half with Vetter's goal being her third of the season and Joyce's goal being her second of the season.

Cottew, Hausken, sophomore Molly Riley and junior Sammy Stoelk each garnered  an assist during the match. 
 
Junior Alexa Rabune was in the net for the Mavericks and picked up her 10th shutout of the season with the win. She currently has a 0.62 goals-against average and a .821 save percentage so far this season.

NSIC Tournament: Around the conference the quarterfinal matches finished with the top seed being eliminated in a shootout and the #2, #3 and #4 seeds advancing. #8 U-Mary tied #1 Bemidji State and then won the shootout 8-7, #2 Minnesota State defeated #7 Concordia-St. Paul 4-0, #3 Augustana defeated #6 Winona State 4-1 and #4 Minot State defeated #5 St. Cloud State 3-2.

The rest of the NSIC Tournament will now be hosted in Mankato, Minn., on Friday and Sunday. The Mavericks and Vikings match will begin at 11:00 a.m., on Friday with the Beavers and Marauders match following at 2:00 p.m. The two winners will play in the championship on Sunday beginning at 1:00 p.m.
 
Regional Rankings: The third edition of the NCAA DII regional rankings came out Wednesday and the Mavericks remained in fourth in the Central Region.

Scouting Augustana: The Vikings (12-4-3) defeated the Warriors 4-1 on Wednesday in Sioux Falls, S.D. Scoring two goals in each half and withstanding a comeback when WSU made the score 2-1 in the beginning of the second half helped propel Augustana past Winona State.  All-time, MSU is 24-2 against Augustana, winning the last 14 matches.

Freshman Alexis Legg continues to pace the Vikings' offense while primarily coming in as a sub. She leads Augustana in goals with 10 and in points with 21, while adding one assist. Another freshman, Claudia Pueschner, has started in 17 out of 20 matches for the Vikings, making 114 total saves, garnering a 0.66 goals against average and posting nine shutouts on the season.

Facing Augustana: Last Friday the Mavericks squared off against the Vikings is Sioux Falls, S.D. MSU was able to complete a shutout in the 2-0 win. Juniors Alesha Duccini and Dakota Wendell scored in the win.

Looking Ahead: If the Mavericks were to win in the semifinals on Friday, they would advance to the championship of the 2018 NSIC Soccer Tournament. MSU would then face the winner of U-Mary and Minot State on Sunday at 1:00 p.m., at The Pitch.