Setting the Scene: The Southwest Minnesota State soccer team will take on Minot State Wednesday Sept. 15 at 7:30 p.m. at Mattke Field. SMSU will start Northern Sun Intercollegiate action when they take on Concordia-St. Paul, Saturday at noon, and St. Cloud State on Sunday at 1 p.m.
The Match-Ups: Wednesday will mark the first meeting between SMSU and Minot State. The series between SMSU and Concordia-St. Paul began in 1999 however when the Mustangs defeated the Bears 7-0. Since then, SMSU has maintained an 8-4-1 record against Concordia. The teams last played each other Sept. 27 2009 in St. Paul where Concordia handed SMSU a 5-1 loss. St. Cloud and SMSU have met 14 times; a series which began in 1996. SMSU has won two of the 14 meetings between the two teams, and last played the Huskies on Sept. 25, 2009 when St. Cloud won the match 2-1.
Last Time Out: SMSU opened their regular season on Saturday, Sept. 4, when they took on Colorado-Colorado Springs. UCCS defeated the Mustangs 2-0. Josi Talbot scored the first goal for UCCS in the 20th minute with assists from Kristin Preble and Saenz. The second goal came from Saenz in the 70th minute with assists from Candice Buckles and Meghan Royer.
Kendra Olchefske led SMSU with 15 saves while
Kelly Fitzgerald had five shots including three on goal.
Senior Experience: SMSU has plenty of leadership experience this season with six seniors on the roster including goalie,
Kendra Olchefske (Albert Lea, Minn.),
Tatum Borstad (Coppell, Tex.),
Jenna Perske (Sartell, Minn.),
Kate Voigt (Hudson, Wis.), and
Liz Judkins (Bemidji, Minn.). This group of seniors has charted three-year overall record of 8-41-4.
Sister Act: Sisters Tatum and
Whitney Borstad continue the tradition of playing Mustang soccer. Tatum, a defender, is the second Borstad to play for SMSU while Whitney, a midfielder, is the third sister to wear Mustang colors. Their older sister, Kayla was a member of the program from 2005 to 2008.
According to the coaches: The NSIC's 14 head coaches tabbed SMSU 13th in their annual preseason poll. The Mustangs received 25 points in the poll. Winona State took the No. 1 spot in the poll, grabbing nine first place votes and and 162 points. Minnesota State, Mankato, the NSIC's No. 2 preseason team, received two first place votes and 152 points.
Stay connected: Stay connected with SMSU soccer all season long at
www.smsumustangs.com. The Mustangs are also on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/smsumustangs and Twitter at
www.twitter.com/smsumustangs.
