MANKATO, Minn.— After facing off in the NSIC Championship game last season, No. 3 Minnesota State will play host to St. Cloud State in the opening round of the NSIC Tournament at The Pitch on Monday at 1 p.m. The Mavericks are the top seed in the tournament while the Huskies come in as the eighth seed.

About the NSIC Tournament:
The 2026 NSIC Women's Soccer Tournament pairings have been determined following the conclusion of the NSIC regular season schedule. The top eight teams from the NSIC Soccer Standings advance to the single-elimination tournament. The top four seeds host first round matches on Monday, November 2 with the winning teams advancing to the semifinal and championship rounds on Friday, November 6 and Sunday, November 8 in a bracketed format. There will be no reseeding following the first-round matches. The highest remaining seed following the quarterfinal matches will host both semifinal and championship matches.

About the Mavericks:
The Mavericks finished the regular season 15-1-2 and held a 12-1-2 record in the NSIC. Last Thursday they closed out their regular season schedule against these very same Huskies, winning 4-2 as they clinched a share of the NSIC regular season championship with UMary.

MSU scored all four goals in the second half, including two from Amara Smith. On the season Smith led the team in goals with 13, and points with 31 shattering her previous career highs. Both ranked as the third best in all the NSIC as she proved to be one of the most valuable players in the conference. Maddix Archer had a fantastic regular season as well, scoring eight goals and adding six assists for 22 points. She ranked inside the top six in all three categories in the NSIC. 17 other players scored goals for the Mavericks this season, and six scored multiple goals including Anna Stromberg (4), Mila Rustin, Reese Hilsenbeck, Abby Hoiska (3), Ruthie Gyasi and Addie Dobratz (2).

On the season MSU scored 49 goals which was 12 more than any other NSIC team and they allowed just eight goals, which was three less than any other team.

On the defensive end Maclayne Menzel, Evie Birk, Savanna Stockness and Meghan Sullivan all had excellent seasons, preventing opponents from generating quality chances in front of goalkeeper Lauren McAlpine. McAlpine finished the regular season first in four separate categories amongst goalkeepers including goals against average (0.44), save percentage (.907), shutouts (14), and wins (15).
 
Scouting St. Cloud State: 
The Huskies are 9-6-3 this season and 8-5-2 in the NSIC under first year head coach Maggie Sherman. They are looking to play spoiler after losing to MSU last Thursday. The Huskies have had a strong season under their first-year coach and have been driven by an excellent offensive core.

Linsey Trapino has been one of the most productive players in the NSIC. She has scored 11 goals this season, which is the fourth most in the NSIC, while she is fourth in points with 26. Darby Allen leads the conference in assists with eight while also adding a goal for 10 total points. Laney Haviland has also been an offensive weapon, placing second on the Huskies in goals with four. 

Zoe Fujino and Jaylee Strickland have split time in net this season, each starting at least eight games. Strickland has played more and has a 3-3-3 record with a 1.29 GAA, .761 save percentage and three shutouts. Fujino has started 8 games, posting a 5-3 record with a 1.41 GAA, .733 save percentage and four shutouts. She got the start in Thursday's match. The Huskies have used both goaltenders effectively to back an overall strong defensive unit. 

All-Time vs. The Huskies: 
The Mavericks are 30-8-4 all-time versus the Huskies, but the matchups in recent years have been very tight. Last season the teams faced off twice, both in Mankato. The Huskies won the first match 1-0 before the Mavericks bounced back ten days later, winning a 2-1 game in double overtime in the NSIC Tournament Championship game. This season, MSU beat St. Cloud State 4-2 to close out both team's regular season slate. The last ten matches have seen the Mavericks have a 5-2-3 advantage. Matches have been consistently close over the last decade, since 2014 every game has been decided by one goal or resulted in a tie besides the match on Thursday. The Mavericks are 17-6-1 at The Pitch with the last match being the NSIC Championship game last season.