MANKATO, Minn. --- Ranked No. 24 in this week's United Soccer Coaches Top 25 Poll, Minnesota State (12-2-1, 10-1-1 NSIC) travels to Sioux Falls (3-9-3, 3-6-3 NSIC) for a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference match, Friday at 6:00 p.m., before hosting Southwest Minnesota State (4-9-1, 3-8-1 NSIC) at The Pitch, Sunday at 1:00 p.m.


Facing USF: MSU is undefeated in 10 matches against the Cougars dating back to Oct. 4, 2011. In the last meeting, MSU routed USF 5-0 at The Pitch. Junior forward Jenny Vetter had a field day for the Mavericks scoring a pair of goals and helping on the three others with three assists for a seven-point afternoon which ranks sixth all-time on MSU's single-game points chart.


Scouting the Cougars: The Cougars are 3-9-3 overall this season with a 3-6-3 NSIC record that has them sitting in the 11th spot in the conference standings.

Junior forward Grace Held leads the Cougars' offensive presence with a team-high two goals and four points. In goal, senior Alexis Wemhoff owns the bulk of USF's minutes, making seven starts for 670 minutes. Wemhoff owns a .929 save percentage and a 1.08 goals-against average for a 2-3-2 record.


Facing SMSU: The Mavericks are 19-1-1 in the all-time series vs. SMSU which dates back to Oct. 29, 1996. Last time out, MSU defeated SMSU 5-1 in a match played at The Pitch. Sophomore forward Allie Williams led MSU to victory with one goal and a pair of assists in the match.


Scouting the Mustangs: SMSU is 12th in the NSIC with a 3-8-1 conference record and 4-9-1 overall record.

Sophomore forward Alex Lotts leads the Mustangs' offensive charge with 4-4--12 over the course of 14 matches. In goal for SMSU, freshman Meghan Harkin has seen 1,082:40 of action over the course of her 13 starts. Harkin owns a 1.33 goals-against and .758 save percentage for a 2-9-1 record this season.


Last Time Out: The Mavericks are 12-2-1 (10-1-1 NSIC) after earning their eighth and ninth consecutive victories in matches at Minot State, 3-0 last Friday, and the University of Mary, 3-0 last Sunday.

Minnesota State hit the ground running Friday with three goals in three minutes to defeat Minot State. Junior forward Caitlin Brown put MSU up 1-0 with a goal off a feed from freshman midfielder Sophie Eskierka that ended up deflecting off the Beavers' goalkeeper and over the line during the 12th minute. Then, junior forward Nadia Lowery wasted no time putting the Mavericks up by a pair. Half a minute after Brown gave MSU the lead, Lowery provided insurance by cleaning up a rebound off the crossbar which was initially shot by freshman forward Maille Mathis in the 13th minute. Moments later, junior forward Jenny Vetter made it 3-0 with an unassisted goal in the 15th minute. Vetter's 41st career goal saw her steal the ball from a Beaver defender before streaking in on the break and burying a shot into the lower-left corner. MSU ultimately held on in the second half to win 3-0.

In Sunday's match, sophomore forward Tia Martin opened the scoring in the 31st minute with a shot that found the lower-left corner from a long way out. Martin scored her second goal of the season off an assist from Mathis which gave MSU a 1-0 lead at the break. In the second half, Lowery provided insurance for the Mavericks' lead with a goal in the 53rd minute off an assist from freshman midfielder Ashlyn Watt. Roughly 10 minutes later, Mathis scored off an assist by Lowery as each Maverick collected their third point of the match in the 64th minute. MSU held on for its ninth straight victory and eighth shutout in their last nine matches to win 3-0.


Doesn't Get Vetter Than This: Junior forward Jenny Vetter is the Mavericks' leading scorer in goals and points this season with a scoring line of 15-2--32 in 15 matches. Vetter sits tied for second in MSU's all-time game-winning goals list with Laura Leber (18 GWG from 2007-10) and is just one game-winning tally shy of the record set by Korey Kronforst (19 GWG from 2012-15). After scoring one more goal last weekend at Minot State, the Mankato, Minn., native moved up one spot to tie for fourth with Morgan Cottew (2015-18) on MSU's all-time scoring list with 41 career goals. Vetter also jumped up to seventh with 94 career points (41-12--94) in 63 matches at Minnesota State.


Feel the Rath: Sophomore Mackenzie Rath earned NSIC Goalkeeper of the Week honors after earning her sixth and seventh career shutouts in last weekend's 3-0 victories over Minot State and UMary. Rath tied her career-high with seven saves in Friday's win over Minot State and stopped five more shots in Sunday's victory over UMary. Rath now sports a 7-1-1 record which is backed by the NSIC's best save percentage (.933 - 2nd in NCAA DII) and goals-against average (.332 - 4th in NCAA DII).

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 with 10 total shutouts this season,  including eight during the Mavericks' current nine-game winning streak. MSU owns the NSIC's best goals-against average (.590) and shutout percentage (.667) as well as the second-best save percentage (.882).


Our History: The 2021 season marks Minnesota State's 27th year playing women's soccer. The Mavericks are 364-126-38 (.725) in 528 contests since their inception as a varsity sport in 1995. Minnesota State is in its 13th season as members of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and owns a 153-19-12 (.874) record in 182 games.

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: MSU wraps up its regular season slate Nov. 5 at Concordia-St. Paul before the NSIC Tournament gets underway, Nov. 10-14.
 

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