MANKATO, Minn. --- The Minnesota State soccer team is back on the road this weekend for Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference matchups at the MSU Moorhead Dragons, Friday at 3:00 p.m., and the Northern State Wolves, Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
Last Time Out: The Mavericks are 4-2-1 (2-1-1) after tying #15 Bemidji State 2-2 and defeating Minnesota Crookston 5-0 at The Pitch, last weekend.
On Friday, the Mavericks scored first and held the match's only pair of leads. However, the Beavers had a response for each of MSU's goals. Each side scored one goal in the first and second half. Junior forward Jenny Vetter poked the Mavericks' first goal past the BSU goalkeeper on the break after receiving a long through-ball pass from sophomore defender Olivia Thoen in the 14th minute. In the waning minutes of the first half, BSU tied the match 1-1 in the 43rd minute. The Mavericks reclaimed the lead a second time in the 60th minute when freshman Claire Cater scored her first collegiate goal on an assist from Vetter. BSU tied the match 12 minutes later, in the 72nd minute. After two scoreless 10-minute overtime halves, the match ultimately ended in a 2-2 draw between the Mavericks and Beavers.
During Sunday's match vs. the Golden Eagles, the Mavericks scored once in the first half before adding four more goals in the second half to win the match 5-0. Freshman Maille Mathis scored the first goal of the match and her career in the 37th minute by following up on rebound that was initially shot by sophomore Shelby Lund. In the second half, freshman Ashlyn Watt scored on an assist from Cater in the 48th minute. Ten minutes later, Cater scored a goal of her own with a header off a cross from junior Caitlin Brown. MSU upped its lead to four moments later when Vetter scored a goal off a feed from sophomore Allie Williams in the 59th minute. The Mavericks scored their final goal of the match with six seconds to spare when freshman Rachel Luedtke scored her first collegiate goal to make it 5-0. Assists went to Louisa Shromoff and Sydney DePrenger.
Top Returner: Junior forward Jenny Vetter is the Mavericks' top-returning scorer this season. With her game-winning tally two weeks ago (Sept. 17 vs. WSC), Vetter now stands tied for third in MSU's all-time game-winning goals list. The Mankato, Minn., native has 71 career points (30-11--71) in 39 matches at Minnesota State. Back in 2019, Vetter led the Mavericks in goals (20), points (47), game-winning goals (10) and shots on net (70), all while concluding the season second on the team with seven assists.
Awards and honors Vetter earned for her efforts during the 2019 campaign included being named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team, being named to the USC All-American First Team the D2CCA All-American Second Team, the D2CCA Central Region Player of the Year, the NSIC Offensive Player of the Year and the NSIC Tournament MVP. Vetter was also named to the D2CCA All-Central Region First Team, the USC All-Central Region First Team, the CoSIDA All-District Team, the All-NSIC First Team, the NSIC All-Tournament Team and the NSIC Fall All-Academic Team.
Facing MSU Moorhead: The Mavericks are 16-2 in the all-time series vs. MSU Moorhead. Over the course of 18 matches between the two schools, the Mavericks have outscored the Dragons 63-7 and have shut them out in 13 consecutive meetings and won the last 15 matches. In the last meeting, the Mavericks defeated the Dragons 3-0. Jenny Vetter led the way with one goal and three shots on net.
Scouting the Dragons: The Dragons sit in last place in the NSIC standings with an 0-7 (0-4 NSIC) record.
Freshman Ally Peters has the Dragons' only goal and points this season with one goal vs. Black Hills State (Sept. 11). MSUM has tried out two goalkeepers this season in senior Kayleigh Sedlacek and sophomore Simone Lewald. Sedlacek has played in the majority of the matches with six starts and 510:25 of the 630 minutes played. Sedlacek owns a 2.29 goals against average and a .711 save percentage while her counterpart, Lewald, owns a 3.76 GAA and a .500 save percentage.
Facing Northern State: In 17 meetings between the Mavericks and Wolves, Minnesota State is 15-1-1. The Mavericks have outscored the Wolves 38-6 in the series and won the last 10 matches. In the last meeting, MSU edged out NSU with a 2-1 victory in overtime where Jenny Vetter scored the golden goal in the 102nd minute.
Scouting the Wolves: The Mavericks and Wolves are tied for sixth in the NSIC standings this season with seven points in conference play, respectively. NSU is 3-2-1 this season with a 2-1-1 record in the NSIC.
The Wolves leading point producer this season is Megan Fastenau. Fastenau is tied for the team lead in goals with a pair and has one assist for a total of five points this season. In goal, Alexus Townsend has appeared and started in all six matches for NSU. She owns a 1.22 goals against average and .837 save percentage with a 3-2-1 record.
Our History: The 2021 season marks Minnesota State's 27th year playing women's soccer. The Mavericks are 356-126-38 (.721) in 520 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 145-19-12 (.858) record in 176 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 their last official season back in 2019. MSU owns a 10-11-5 overall record in NCAA postseason play.
Looking Ahead: The Mavericks are back home following this weekend for four straight matches at The Pitch, taking on Upper Iowa (Oct. 8), Winona State (Oct. 10), St. Cloud State (Oct. 15) and Minnesota Duluth (Oct. 17).
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