MANKATO, Minn. --- Minnesota State (10-2-1, 8-1-1 NSIC) heads to North Dakota this weekend for a pair of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference matches at Minot State (9-3-2, 8-1-1 NSIC), Friday at 5:00 p.m., and UMary (7-3-3, 6-2-2 NSIC), Sunday at 1:00 p.m.


Facing Minot State: The Mavericks are 8-1-3 with four consecutive wins in the all-time series with the Beavers which dates back to Sept. 30, 2012. Last spring, MSU defeated Minot State 3-0 at Scheels Field in the Maverick All-Sports Dome.

Scouting the Beavers: The Beavers are 9-3-2 this season with an 8-1-1 NSIC record that has them tied for second in the standings with the Mavericks.

Senior forward Sofia Lewis leads the way for the Beavers in goal scoring. In 13 matches this season, Lewis leads the team in goals (eight), points (17), shots (67) and shots on goal (42). Junior goalkeeper Maddie Kindred has yet to miss any action this season, playing all 1196:36 in goal for the Beavers. She owns a 0.83 goals-against average and an .863 save percentage.


Facing UMary: The Mavericks own an 11-1-3 all-time record over the Marauders dating back to the 2008 season. In the last meeting, the match tied 1-1 before MSU prevailed 6-5 in a shootout to advance in the 2019 NSIC Tournament. During the regular season, the Marauders defeated the Mavericks 2-1 in a match played in Bismarck, N.D.

Scouting the Marauders: UMary sits fifth in the NSIC standings with a 6-2-2 conference mark and a 7-3-3 record overall.

Senior forward Hannah Richter leads the Marauders' offensive charge with the team lead in goals (four), assists (four), points (12), shots (29) and shots on goal (21). In goal for UMary, junior Madisyn Waltman has yet to miss time this season. In 1238:01 of action, Waltman sports an .817 save percentage and 0.80 goals-against average.


Last Time Out: The Mavericks are 10-2-1 (6-1-1 NSIC) after earning their sixth and seventh consecutive victories in matches against St. Cloud State, 1-0 last Friday, and Minnesota Duluth, 5-1 last Sunday.

On Friday, the Mavericks' lone goal came in the second half when junior forward Jenny Vetter scored her 17th career game-winning goal in the 82nd minute on a far-side shot that found the top-right corner of the goal. Sophomore forward Olivia Thoen collected the assist.

In Sunday's match, junior forward Nadia Lowery scored the Mavericks' first goal in the 12th minute off an assist from Vetter. Roughly 15 minutes later, in the 27th minute, Vetter scored to make it 2-0. Her 13th goal of the season was the eventual game-winning goal, marking the 18th of her career, to move her into a tie with Laura Leber (2007-10) for the second most game-winning goals scored by a Maverick in program history (record held by Korey Kronforst with 19 GWG from 2012-15). Freshman forward Molly Mosher made it 3-0 in the 39th minute when she scored the first goal of her collegiate career. In the second half, Vetter scored her second goal of the match for her fifth point of the afternoon during the 50th minute to make it 4-0. Freshman defender Natalie Thoen scored her first goal as a Maverick in the 54th minute to up MSU's lead to 5-0. That concluded scoring for MSU, but UMD broke MSU's streak of 652:07 without surrendering a goal in 74th minute by scoring to make it 5-1. However, MSU held on for its seventh consecutive victory.


Doesn't Get Vetter Than This: For the second straight week, Jenny Vetter was named the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Offensive Player of the Week. Vetter scored three goals and added an assist for a seven-point weekend in the pair of matches vs. St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth, last weekend.

Vetter is the Mavericks' leading scorer in goals and points this season with a scoring line of 14-2--30 in 13 matches. With her 17th and 18th game-winners last weekend, Vetter now sits tied for second in MSU's all-time game-winning goals list and is just one game-winning tally shy of the record. After scoring three more goals in last weekend's slate, the Mankato, Minn., native moved up one spot from sixth to tied for fifth on MSU's all-time scoring list with 40 goals. Vetter also jumped up to eighth with 92 career points (40-12--92) in 61 matches at Minnesota State.


Feel the Rath: Sophomore Mackenzie Rath earned her fifth career clean sheet with a four-save showing in Friday's win over SCSU, which upped her record to 5-1-1. Friday's clean-sheet victory also marked the Mavericks' eighth shutout of the season.

As a unit, the Mavericks' goalkeeping corps, comprised of Rath and a pair of freshmen in Clare Longueville and Ava Blackney, is among the best in the conference. MSU owns the NSIC's best goals-against average (.679), shutout percentage (.615) and the third-best save percentage (.859).


Our History: The 2021 season marks Minnesota State's 27th year playing women's soccer. The Mavericks are 362-126-38 (.724) in 526 contests since their inception as a varsity sport in 1995. Minnesota State concluded its 12th season in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference in 2019 and owns a 151-19-12 (.862) record in 182 games during conference play.

Over the course of its history, MSU has claimed 10 regular-season conference championships, including five North Central Conference championships and five NSIC championships. The Mavericks have also won eight NSIC Tournament championships in 12 years of existence in the NSIC. Minnesota State made its 14th appearance in the NCAA Tournament during its last official season back in 2019. MSU owns a 10-11-5 overall record in NCAA postseason play.


Looking Ahead: Following the Mavericks' trip to North Dakota, MSU heads to Sioux Falls for a match, Oct. 29 at 6:00 p.m., before returning home to host Southwest Minnesota State on Senior Day at The Pitch, Oct. 31 at 1:00 p.m.
 

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