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Southwest Minnesota State (1-9-0, 1-5-0 NSIC) continues its seven-game road trip this weekend as it travels to No. 16 Minnesota State, Mankato (7-1-2, 5-0-1 NSIC) on Friday at 3 p.m.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
Minnesota State: The Mavericks enter Friday's game ranked 16th nationally and second in the NSIC.  MSU has had a stellar defense this season, as goalkeeper Sheila Reynolds (GK, Jr.) has a stingy 0.63 GAA and .880 save percentage.  In its past six games, MSU has allowed a total of just two goals.  The Mavericks have also out-shot opponents 182-126.  Offensively, Laura Leber (F, So.) has led the way with six goals and two assists.  Natalie Bullis (F, Jr.) has three goals and two assists, while Carly Petersen (F, Sr.), Leslie Peterson (MF, Sr.) and Kelly Sadler (D, Sr.) each have two goals.  Jessie Audas (F/MF, So.) has a team-high five assists.

SERIES HISTORY
SMSU is 0-8-0 all-time against MSU, including 0-5-0 in games played in Mankato.

MUSTANG NOTES
Northern State scored two second half goal to defeat the Southwest Minnesota State soccer team 3-1 on Saturday in Aberdeen.

Kaylee McDonald scored all three goals for Northern, including one just over 16 minutes into the second half and her final goal for the hat trick with less than four minutes left.

Courtney McCarthy scored SMSU's only goal to tie the score at 1-1 in the 25th minute as she put Kelly Fitzgerald's deflection off Ashley Elbers' corner kick in the net from in front of the goal.  It was McCarthy's first career goal.

Kendra Olchefske made seven saves in the net for the Mustangs.

McCarthy scored her second goal of her career and second of the weekend, but it was not enough as the Southwest Minnesota State soccer team lost 3-1 to Mary on Sunday in Bismarck.

UM got on the board in the ninth minute as an SMSU defender accidentally kicked the ball into her own net.  SMSU tied the game in the 36th minute as McCarthy headed a pass from Jenna Perske into the net.  The assist was the first of Perske's career.

Amy Tanaka scored two second half goals to pull the Marauders away from the Mustangs.

Olchefske made 10 saves for the Mustangs in the net.

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 1-9-0 at SMSU and 1-5-0 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 fifth in the NSIC in saves per game at 7.33.  She has 44 saves in four conference games.  Her 44 saves rank third 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.