MANKATO, Minn. ---#19 Minnesota State will look to continue its dominate season against Upper Iowa and Winona State this weekend on the road. Last week, MSU battled MSU Moorhead and Northern State going 1-0-1 on the weekend. The Mavericks opened the weekend at the Pitch as it took on the Dragons.
Jenny Vetter established dominance against the MSUM early scoring two goals in the first 13 minutes of the match. All the momentum for the Dragons was demolished after an own goal in the first three minutes of the second half as the Mavericks went on to win 6-0. In part-two of the weekend, Minnesota State ran into trouble facing a stout Northern State defense. Nobody could find the back of the net as the match reached the final minute with zeros on the board. MSU will head into this weekend with an overall record of 6-1-12 and 4-0-2 against NSIC opponents.
Facing UIU: Heading into the 16th matchup with UIU, the Mavericks are 12-1-2 in its last 15 matchups against the Peacocks. The Mavericks have only allowed one goal against UIU in the last seven matchups dating back to 2014. Upper Iowa is coming off a solid 8-9 overall record in 2021 but have not been able to repeat the same successes in its new campaign starting the season 1-2-3 against conference opponents to go with a 2-4-3 overall record. In the previous match, the Mavericks dominated the Peacocks to a toon of 5-0.
Jenny Vetter led the way last go-around as she sent a career high four goals to the back of the net. It was only the third time in program history a Maverick scored 4+ goals in a match.
Scouting the Peacocks: The UIU offense is led by graduate student
Haley Ramberg and senior
Katie Samuels who both account for two goals on the season. Both players were key pieces in the Peacocks' success last year as they combined for 19 points. In goal, the Peacocks rely on its platoon made up of a freshman duo,
Isabelle Wagner and
Jamie Kerkvliet combining for 765 minutes. The pair owns a .783 save percentage and 1.11 goals-against average for a 2-4-2 record.
Facing WSU: The Mavericks come into this weekend with a lifetime 16-14-1 over the Warriors. WSU finished with a disappointing 3-11-1 overall record last season to finish near the bottom of the pack. This season, Winona is off to a much better start at 4-2-3 overall and 2-1-3 against NSIC opponents. In the previous matchup, the Mavericks shutout WSU with goals coming from
Allie Williams,
Jenny Vetter and
Brynn Desens. The shutout went to
Mackenzie Rath after facing 11 shots (5 shots-on-goal).
Scouting the Warriors: Winona State's offense is led by seniors
Riley Harmon and
Jaida Wiege combining for 15 points thus far. Harmon was a standout player for the Warriors last season as she finished with a team high nine points. In goal, sophomore Chloe Swanson started eight games for WSU accumulating 720 minutes on the season. Swanson owns a .829 save percentage and an immaculate 0.88 goals-against average for a 4-1-3 record this season.