Complete Release (PDF)

Southwest Minnesota State (1-14-0, 1-10-0 NSIC) wraps up the 2008 regular season this weekend when it hosts Minnesota State Moorhead (7-7-1, 4-6-1 NSIC) on Friday, Oct. 31 at 3 p.m. and Minnesota, Crookston (3-14-1, 2-9-0 NSIC) on Sunday, Nov. 2 at 1 p.m.  Friday's game will be played at Mustang Field due to previously scheduled high school football playoffs at the Regional Event Center.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
MSU Moorhead: The Dragons (7-7-1 overall, 4-6-1 NSIC) have won two of their past three games, defeating Minnesota, Crookston and Wayne State, before losing to Augustana in overtime.  Richelle Ross (MF, Sr.) leads MSUM with six goals and also has an assist.  Tricia Vanyo (MF, So.) also has five goals and two assists.  Katherine Adams (F, Fr.) and Katie Hiemstra (F, Sr.) have each scored three times.  Andrea Pearson (Sr.) and Allison Wanner (So.) have split time in the goal this season.  Pearson is 3-5-1 with a 1.77 GAA, while Wanner is 4-2-0 with a 1.72 GAA.
Minnesota, Crookston: The Golden Eagles (3-14-1 overall, 2-9-0 NSIC) are coming off a 4-0 win over Wayne State, which snapped a six-game losing streak.  Justine Jones (MF/F, Jr.) has been a bright spot for UMC, scoring eight goals this season with two assists.  Kelsey Palmer (F, So.) and Megan Gibeault (F, So.) have each scored four of Crookston's 10 other goals this year.  Anna Ogaard (GK, So.) is 3-11-1 with a 3.59 GAA.

SERIES HISTORY
SMSU even in the all-time series with MSUM at 7-7-3.  However, the Mustangs hold a 4-2-2 edge in games played in Marshall.  The past two games have resulted in ties.  Southwest has dominated the series against Crookston, leading 11-1-0 all-time, including 5-0-0 in games played in Marshall against the Golden Eagles.  SMSU has won its past five games against UMC.

MUSTANG NOTES
No. 4 Winona State 2, SMSU 0
The Southwest Minnesota State lost to No. 4 Winona State 2-0 on Saturday in Winona.

Southwest allowed just 14 shot attempts, the second-fewest  opponents' total of the season for the Mustangs.

Kendra Olchefske made four saves in the net.  Jena Tiemeyer had SMSU's only shot on goal.

Sarah Colleran scored for the Warriors just 10:09 into the game.  Melissa Sellier added an insurance goal in the 75th minute.

Upper Iowa 4, SMSU 1
The Southwest Minnesota State soccer team lost 4-1 on Sunday to Upper Iowa in Fayette on a windy, snowy afternoon.

Both teams played back-and-forth for much of the first half and SMSU outshot UIU 9-8 during the first period, but Upper Iowa's Jolene Ridenhour scored with less than three minutes left before the intermission to put the Peacocks ahead 1-0.

UIU's Jennifer Lee added two goals and Amy Campbell added another, before Tatum Borstad scored her first goal of the season from 12 yards out on an assist from Courtney McCarthy to put SMSU on the board.

Kendra Olchefske made 10 saves in the loss.

HEAD COACH AMY OLSON
Southwest Minnesota State University director of athletics Chris Hmielewski announced on Dec. 28, 2007, that Amy Olson would be named the new head women's soccer coach at SMSU.  Olson, who is the third head coach in the program's 12-year history, replaces Jill McCartney who resigned following the 2007 season.

Olson completed her fourth season as head coach at NCAA Division I South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, S.C., in 2007.  Prior to taking over the helm at South Carolina State, Olson spent two seasons as an assistant coach at NCAA Division I Prairie View A&M University where she helped start its women's soccer program.  During her two years at Prairie View A&M, Olson also coached a pair of club teams in Minnesota, the West Side Soccer Association in St. Paul and the Minneapolis Soccer Association in Minneapolis.

Olson's teams had tremendous success in the classroom, as South Carolina State's Academic Progress Rate (APR) was a perfect 1,000.  On the field, SCSU had five players earn postseason honors from the United Soccer Conference in 2007.

Olson has a record of 1-14-0 at SMSU and 1-10-0 in the NSIC.

FIRST-YEAR HEAD COACHES AT SMSU
Olson is in her first year as the third head coach in SMSU history.  Jen Zebroski posted a 1-13 overall record and 1-3 record in the NSIC in 1996, the first year of the program.  SMSU's lone win that season was a 4-2 victory over Bemidji State on the road in the fourth game of the season.  Jill McCartney took over in 1998 and went 7-11 and 3-3 in the NSIC, including shutout wins over Wayne State, Minnesota, Crookton, Viterbo (Wis.), Minnesota-Morris and Northern State (twice).

OLCHEFSKE'S FIRST CAREER SHUTOUT
Kendra Olchefske was tremendous in the net for the Mustangs, making nine saves for her first career shutout in a 1-0 win over Bemidji State on Sept. 20, including two saves in the final two minutes of the game.

Olchefske made a save with 1:58 remaining.  The Beavers got two more chances moments later as Olchefske made a save on a breakaway with 1:06 left and a Southwest teammate blocked another shot just seconds later to stop the run.

OLCHEFSKE AMONG NSIC'S LEADERS
Kendra Olchefske is currently sixth in the NSIC in saves per game at 7.10.  Her 71 saves rank fifth in the conference.

FRESHMAN FIRSTS
Freshmen Kelly Fitzgerald and Brittany Oehlerking each scored their first career goals in a 4-3 double overtime loss at NCAA Division South Dakota on Wednesday, Sept. 3.  Fitzgerald found the net at 5:16 in the first half and again at 20:17 as she scored twice.  Oehlerking scored her first career goal 18:08 into the game.

Courtney McCarthy scored her first two career goals in two games on Oct. 4-5.  Her first came to tie the score at 1-1 on Oct. 4 against Northern State, 24:42 into the game.

MUSTANGS PICKED 12TH IN NSIC
The Southwest Minnesota State women's soccer team was picked to finish 12th in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference preseason coaches poll.  Minnesota State, Mankato was picked to win the conference with 164 points, including nine first-place votes.  SMSU had a total of 34 points in the poll.

Winona State was picked second, just nine points behind MSU after winning the regular season conference title a year ago.  University of Mary's Megan Wilson was chosen as the Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, while Winona State's  Heidi Woerle was selected as the Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.