BURNSVILLE, Minn. — The Minnesota State women's soccer program was picked to win the 2026 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference in the preseason poll, released Monday by the league office. The Mavericks garnered 223 points and 13 of 16 first-place votes in the coaches' poll. MSU senior defender Mila Rustin was named NSIC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, while senior Maddix Archer was tabbed an offensive player to watch this season.
Following MSU, Concordia-St. Paul was picked second with 204 points and the remaining three first-place nods, while Bemidji State was picked third (193), followed by Augustana (174) and St. Cloud State rounded out the top five with 164 points.
"This year's team will have, what I believe, is the perfect combination of veteran experience and youthfulness that is eager to make its mark," MSU head coach Brian Bahl said. "I also think it's a group that is excited about coming together to do something really special. I'm confident in our leadership core and I think this group overall has the potential to be as deep and as talented as we've ever been."
University of Mary was picked sixth (156), followed by Northern State (142), Minot State (121), Winona State (104) and Minnesota Duluth was tenth with 98 points. Wayne State checked in at 11th (95), followed by Sioux Falls (89), Southwest Minnesota State (46), Jamestown (42), Minnesota Crookston (35) and MSU Moorhead (34) was 16th.
Bahl enters his 14th season at Minnesota State with an impressive 208-30-36 (.825) record at the helm. He has guided the Mavericks to the NCAA Tournament in 12 of his 13 completed seasons and owns a remarkable 148-11-19 conference record. Overall, Bahl has compiled a 272-72-53 (.752) record in 20 seasons as a collegiate head coach.
The Mavericks are coming off another outstanding campaign in 2025, finishing 18-1-4 overall and 13-1-1 in NSIC play. Minnesota State captured its 11th NSIC championship, hosted the NCAA regional tournament for the second consecutive season, and concluded the year ranked No. 16 nationally. The program has now reached the NCAA Tournament in 14 consecutive seasons.
Rustin, a native of Farmington Hills, Mich., played in 21 matches last season for 607 minutes and tied for second on the team in goals with five. She had one assist and finished with 11 points, while posting 24 shots and 11 on frame. Rustin tallied one game winner and her assist came in the NCAA postseason in a 2-0 win over Harding.
For her career, she has played in 60 matches with eight starts, scored six goals with three assists for 15 points. Rustin has 38 shots (.158) with 16 on target (.421), the one game winner and has logged 2,229 minutes. She was a member of the NCAA Division II National Runner-Up team in 2024.
A strong nucleus returns for the Mavericks in 2026, including Archer, who finished tied for third on the team in scoring with 12 points as she scored four goals and four assists. Archer led the team with 57 shots and had 21 on target (.368) and registered one game winner. She was one of ten players last year who started all 23 matches.
Also highlighting the returnees is junior goalkeeper Lauren McAlpine, who earned D2CCA First Team All-America honors and United Soccer Coaches Third Team All-America recognition in 2025. She was also named the NSIC Goalkeeper of the Year and a First Team All-Conference selection.
McAlpine ranked among the nation's elite last season, posting a .906 save percentage (second nationally), a 0.384 goals-against average (third nationally), and 16 shutouts, the most in NCAA Division II. She also recorded a school-record 15 conference shutouts, played 2,125 minutes in goal, and tied for third in program history with 18 victories in a season.
Offensively, Minnesota State returns two of its top three scorers from last year, including junior Marin Johnson, who finished with five goals, three assists, and 13 points. Johnson also led the Mavericks with three game-winning goals, ranking third in the NSIC. The aforementioned Archer finished third on the team in scoring a season ago.
Minnesota State opens exhibition play on Sunday, Aug. 16, against Iowa Lakes Community College before facing Northwest Missouri State (Aug. 19) and Simpson College (Aug. 23). The Mavericks begin the regular season on Aug. 28 at Central Oklahoma and host Central Missouri and No. 19 Grand Valley State during their home-opening weekend on Sept. 4-6.
The 2026 NSIC Soccer Regular Season Champion will be determined by a 15-match league schedule, with a win earning a team three points and a tie one point.
The 2026 NSIC Soccer season will see its first non-conference action on Thursday, August 27 with NSIC action beginning on Friday, September 11.
The NSIC Tournament is scheduled for Monday, November 2, Friday, November 6 and Sunday, November 8. The top four seeds will host a first round match, followed by the semifinal and championship rounds at the campus of the highest remaining seed of the four quarterfinal winners.
New for the 2026 season, all Minnesota State home soccer matches and NSIC championship events will stream on Midco Sports Plus, the new home of the NSIC Network. Fans can subscribe monthly or annually through the Midco Sports Plus website or app.
Stay up to date on all Maverick Athletics news by downloading the Maverick mobile app for exclusive content, gameday notifications, schedules, rosters and more. Fans can also follow @MinnStAthletics on Instagram and X and like the Minnesota State Mavericks Facebook page.
