Mankato, Minn. --- The Minnesota State soccer team will begin its longest homestand of the season with matches against Southwest Minnesota State and Sioux Falls. The Mavericks and Mustangs will square-off on Friday at 3:00 p.m., and then MSU will turn its attention to the Cougars on Sunday at 1:00 p.m., with both matches being at The Pitch.

Looking Back at Last Week: The Mavericks split last weekend's road matches and now have a record of 7-2-0 (4-2-0 NSIC), good for fourth place in the conference standings. MSU dropped its second straight match of the season to U-Mary 2-1 last Friday and then defeated Minot State 5-2 on Sunday.
 
In the first match, the Marauders were the first to get on the board when junior Hannah Richter got the ball on a good run and scored in the 36th minute. Richter struck again in the second half to give U-Mary a 2-0 lead in the 60th minute. The Mavericks could not string anything together until just under a minute left when senior Bri Ciaccio scored her first goal of the season. Ciaccio put the ball in the low left corner off the free kick from junior Molly Sarafolean.

In the second match, a penalty kick was awarded to the Mavericks after a Beaver foul in the box in the fourth minute of play. Sophomore Brynn Desens stepped up and buried her team-leading sixth goal of the season for the first goal of the match. Ciaccio extended the lead to 2-0 after scoring her second goal of the weekend and the season in the low right corner. The Beavers cut the lead in half as senior Daniela Fonseca scored in the 16th minute. The Mavericks regained the two-goal advantage in the 19th minute when sophomore Nadia Lowery scored her second goal of the season. Sophomore Jenny Vetter scored the final goal of the half in the 26th minute for her fifth goal of the season. Freshman Kelsey Pena made the score 4-2 in the 60th minute for the Beavers. The Mavericks scored the final goal of the match in the 76th minute when Molly Riley scored her first goal of the season.

Senior Alexa Rabune (6-2) suffered the loss against U-Mary and made two saves,  allowing a goal before exiting in the 40th minute. Freshman Mackenzie Rath (1-0) made a save and allowed a goal in relief against U-Mary. Rath made six saves in the win over Minot State, allowing two goals in the following match.

NCAA Statistics: Early on in the season, MSU ranks among the best in offensive categories in NCAA DII. The Mavericks have the 12th most assists per game (3.00) and points per game (9.00) and the 13th most goals per game (3.00).

First Win: Freshman Mackenzie Rath collected her first career win in her first career start as a Maverick. Rath got the win the match over Minot State while making a career-high six saves against a career-high 15 shots faced.

Scouting Southwest Minnesota State: The Mustangs have a 6-2-0 (4-2-0 NSIC) record in the 2019 season, sitting tied for fourth in the conference. Last weekend, SMSU defeated Minnesota Crookston 4-0 and then fell to Bemidji State 3-1. 

Freshman Alex Lotts currently paces the Mustangs in goals and is tied for the team lead in points, scoring four goals with three assists for 11 points. Freshman Amanda Haimes has made all eight starts so far this season going 6-2-0 record with a 1.00 goals-against average, .784 save percentage, 29 saves and four shutouts. 

Facing Southwest Minnesota State: The Mavericks have a 18-1-1 record against the Mustangs all-time. MSU won the meeting last season 9-1 in Marshall, Minn.

Scouting Sioux Falls: The Cougars have a 2-6-1 (2-3-1 NSIC) record in the 2019 season and sit 11th in the conference. Last weekend USF dropped the first game of the weekend to Bemidji State 1-0 and then defeated Minnesota Crookston 4-1.

Senior Lily McKown and freshman Alexis Naujokaitis have each scored a goal and collected an assist for three points for the Cougars. Junior Alexis Wemhoff (2-3-1) has started seven of the nine matches this season with a 0.85 goals-against average, .881 save percentage, 37 saves and two shutouts.

Facing Sioux Falls: The Mavericks have an undefeated 9-0-0 record against the Cougars. MSU won two matches against USF last season, 4-0 in a nonconference match and 1-0 in conference play.

Looking Ahead: The Mavericks will finish their four-match homestand The Pitch next weekend. On Oct. 18, MSU will host Minnesota Crookston and Bemidji State on Oct. 20, with both matches beginning at 1:00 p.m.