MANKATO, Minn. – The No. 2 Minnesota State (16-1-2, 12-1-2 NSIC) has advanced to the semifinals of the NSIC Tournament and they will face Northern State (11-4-3, 9-3-3 NSIC) on Friday at 1 p.m. with a chance to advance to the NSIC championship on the line.

The Mavericks opened the tournament with a dominant 3-0 win over the St. Cloud State Huskies. After a back and forth opening 20 minutes, Amara Smith finished through traffic in the box shortly after a corner kick off an assist from Reese Hilsenbeck for her 14th goal of the season. Another corner kick by Brenna Hudson found Ruthie Gyasi who headed the ball into the net for the 2-0 lead. NSIC Goalkeeper of the Year Lauren McAlpine made five saves in the first half to hold the Huskies off the scoresheet. Mila Rustin would ice the game in the 78th minute with her fourth goal of the season, while McAlpine made six more second half saves to help MSU advance to the semifinals.

Smith comes into Friday's match riding an eight-game goal scoring streak leading a Maverick attack that has scored multiple goals in seven of their last eight matches. She is one of three Mavericks to be named to the All-NSIC first team alongside McAlpine and Maddix Archer. Five other Mavericks were named All-NSIC second team including Hilsenbeck, Rustin, Savanna Stockness, Evie Birk, and Maclayne Menzel.

Scouting Northern State:

The Wolves head into the semifinal match after beating Concordia-St. Paul 1-0 in the quarterfinals on their home field. Chloe Voss scored in the 61st minute while Audrey Burns made four saves in the shutout win. NSU has allowed the third fewest goals in the conference with 13 and have scored the seventh most with 26.

Jaylee Hofer has been the primary goal scorer for the Wolves, totaling six goals and six assists for 18 points while Kylie Albert (12 points) and Voss (11 points) have been solid secondary contributors for the offensive attack. Albert is one of three Wolves with three goals and Voss is second on the team with four goals.

The defense is anchored by the NSIC Defensive Player of the Year Lauren Youngquist who has played over 1,500 minutes while scoring three goals and adding two assists. She is an excellent defender that has helped the Wolves hold teams off the scoresheet. Burns has started all 18 games in net and holds a 11-3-3 record. She has recorded six shutouts and added two additional combined shutouts while posting a .68 GAA and a .804 save percentage.
Youngquist was named a member of the All-NSIC first team while Hofer, Voss, Kailyn Poppen and Burns were named All-NSIC second team.

All-Time vs. the Wolves:

Earlier this season the two teams played to a 0-0 draw in Aberdeen. Both teams got opportunities to score on penalty kicks but neither attempt was successful, it was the first game this season the Mavericks did not win. Four of the last five meetings have ended in ties surrounding a 4-0 win by the Mavericks in 2025. Overall MSU is 17-1-5 and 8-0-3 at home in the all-time series. Northern State's only win in the series came in a 1-0 shutout in 2010. The last matchup that came in the NSIC Tournament was in 2016, which resulted in a 1-0 win for the Mavericks.

The winner of Friday's match will face the winner of Bemidji State and Minnesota Duluth which takes place at 10 a.m. on Friday, in the championship game on Sunday at 1 p.m.