BURNSVILLE, Minn. - No. 8 Minnesota State's Amara Smith has been named NSIC Offensive Player of the Week for her four goal weekend against Sioux Falls and SMSU.

The Lake Elmo native had a career weekend, scoring four goals across both matches. On Friday against Sioux Falls, Smith had a trio of goals for her first career hat trick. She scored the opening goal of the game 11 minutes in before adding another eight minutes later on a penalty kick. She would complete the hat trick in the second half by burning past the Cougar defense and beating the goaltender with a perfect shot. It was the first hat trick by a Maverick since 2024 when Addison Clarey scored three times against MSU Moorhead.

Smith was not done on the weekend as she scored once more against SMSU on Sunday. She would get another opportunity for a penalty kick goal and had no problem converting for the opening goal of a 6-0 win. Overall, she took seven shots on the weekend and converted all four that were on the net.

Smith has already set career highs in both goals and points in 2026 with five goals and 11 points. She is 3-3 on penalty kicks and has three game-winning goals for an 8-0-1 Mavericks team. They will be back on the road this weekend first against Bemidji State on Friday at 5:00 p.m. and then on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. against Minnesota Duluth.

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