MANKATO, Minn.. -- Third-seed Minnesota State got back in the win column to open the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Tournament with a 1-0 victory over sixth-seed University of Mary, Wednesday afternoon at The Pitch.

With the win, the Mavericks extend their unbeaten streak to 14 matches, which dates back to Sept. 19, and now own a 15-2-2 overall record. With the loss, the Marauders have fallen out of the NSIC Tournament with a 9-7-3 overall record.

The first half was a scoreless one between the Mavericks and Marauders. MSU had a grasp on the shots effort 5-2 at the break. 

In the second half, the Mavericks cracked the score column thanks to an own goal put in by the Marauders during the 56th minute. MSU rode the 1-0 lead until the very end to prevail 1-0 over UM to advance to the NSIC Tournament semifinals.

Sophomore Mackenzie Rath (10-1-2) climbed to up to a tie for sixth on MSU's all-time single-season shutouts list when she picked up her ninth shutout in the match. Now with 10 on her career, Rath was called upon to make three saves during the match. On the other end, Madisyn Waltman (9-6-3) stopped all three of the Mavericks' shots on goal before allowing the own goal.

In total, MSU outshot UM 16-3 while also doubling up the Marauders in corner kicks by a 4-2 margin.

The Mavericks' next match in the NSIC Tournament will be held in Bemidji, Minn., where they will take on the winner of today's match between Augustana and St. Cloud State.

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