MANKATO, Minn. --- Ranked No. 21 in this week's United Soccer Coaches Top 25 Poll, Minnesota State (14-2-1, 12-1-1 NSIC) closes out the regular season with a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference match on the road at Concordia-St. Paul (9-6-2, 8-4-2 NSIC), Friday at 5:00 p.m.


Facing CSP: MSU is 18-1 in the all-time series vs. Concordia-St. Paul. In the last meeting, MSU captured its fourth consecutive NSIC Tournament title over CSP 3-0 at Sea Foam Stadium in St. Paul. Junior forward Jenny Vetter led the way offensively with a pair of goals and five shots on net in the match.

Scouting the Golden Bears: CSP is 9-6-2 overall this season with an 8-4-2 record in conference matches. The Golden Bears are sixth in the NSIC standings with 26 points.

Sophomore forward Katie Anderson is the Golden Bears' biggest threat to score this season. Anderson leads CSP with seven goals and 14 points as well as 89 shots, including 38 shots on net. In goal, freshman Jordan Jessi has owned the bulk of CSP's time between the goal posts. In 13 matches where she's made 11 starts, Jessi owns a 1.33 goals-against average and .714 save percentage.


Regional Ranking: The Minnesota State women's soccer team received the No. 4 ranking in the first edition of the NCAA Central Region Rankings, last week. The NSIC, the Mid-America Athletic Association (MIAA) and the Great American Conference (GAC) make up the 35-team NCAA Central Region. The top eight teams in the region will advance to the NCAA Central Region Tournament on Nov. 9 & 11 and Nov. 16 & 18.  Automatic bids are granted to the winners of the MIAA, GAC and NSIC postseason tournaments, with the remaining five spots awarded on an at-large basis. The NCAA women's soccer selection show will be streamed online on Monday, Nov. 15 at NCAA.com at 5:00 p.m. CST.

MSU received the fourth spot in the rankings after putting together a 12-2-1 in-region record. Central Missouri topped the rankings, with Emporia State and Bemidji State following in second and third, respectively.


Last Time Out: The Mavericks are 14-2-1 (12-1-1 NSIC) after earning their 10th and 11th consecutive victories in matches on the road at Sioux Falls, 2-1 last Friday, before hosting Southwest Minnesota State, 2-0 last Sunday.

On Friday, Junior Brynn Desens scored her third goal of the season to open the scoring when she found the back of the net on a penalty kick in the 52nd minute to put MSU up 1-0. The Mavericks held a 1-0 lead through the majority of the second half but the Cougars knotted the match up at 1-1 in the 80th minute. Neither team managed to break the tie in the closing minutes of the second half and the match went into overtime. The Mavericks did not waste any time in their third overtime match this season as junior Jenny Vetter recorded her 16th goal of the season in the 90th minute to give Minnesota State the 2-1 win.

On Sunday, Freshman Maille Mathis led MSU to victory with a goal in each half of the Mavericks' 2-0 win over SMSU. Mathis scored her first goal in the 30th minute off an assist from Olivia Thoen. In the 66th minute, Mathis provided an insurance marker to make it 2-0 off assists from Molly Mosher and Vetter.


Bahlling Out: With the Mavericks' 2-0 victory over SMSU, last Sunday at The Pitch, head coach Brian Bahl now stands alone as the MSU's all-time winningest soccer coach after passing former head coach Chris Miskec (142 victories from 1996-07).


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 16-3--35 in 17 matches. Now with 19 career game-winning goals after scoring in overtime last Friday, Vetter now sits tied for first at MSU all-time in game-winners with Korey Kronforst (2012-15) and leads NCAA DII this season with seven game-deciding goals. Vetter is currently fourth on MSU's all-time scoring list with 42 goals in her Maverick career. She also stands at seventh with 97 career points (42-13--97) in 65 matches at Minnesota State.


Feel the Rath: Sophomore Mackenzie Rath has earned NSIC Goalkeeper of the Week twice this season (Oct. 11 and Oct. 25) and has played the most minutes out of any other goalkeeper on the Maverick roster with 953. After last weekend's wins over USF and SMSU, Rath now sports a 9-1-1 record which is backed by the NSIC's best save percentage (.920 - 2nd in NCAA DII) and goals-against average (.362 - 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 11 total shutouts this season, including nine during the Mavericks' current 11-game winning streak. MSU owns the NSIC's best goals-against average (.580) and shutout percentage (.647) as well as the second-best save percentage (.877) in the conference.


Marvelous Mathis: Freshman forward Maille Mathis leads Maverick rookies with 13 points this season which ranks second on the team in scoring overall. In 17 matches, Mathis has made four starts and is tied for the team-lead in assists with five. Mathis is also among the Mavericks' most prolific shooters this season, attempting 29 shots (fourth on the team) with 14 on goal (fourth on the team). Last time out, Mathis scored a career-high two goals in a match against Southwest Minnesota State, the Mavericks held on to win 2-0.


Our History: The 2021 season marks Minnesota State's 27th year playing women's soccer. The Mavericks are 366-126-38 (.726) in 530 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 155-19-12 (.875) record in 184 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: The NSIC Tournament is set for  Nov. 10, 12 and 14. The Mavericks are set to host a first-round matchup, however, the opponent is to be determined based on the NSIC's upcoming week of games.

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