MARSHALL, Minn. – The Southwest Minnesota State soccer team, 4-5-0 overall, 3-2-0 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference action, will put an end to its six-match home stand this weekend hosting Augustana (5-5-0, 2-3-0 NSIC) on Saturday and Wayne State (3-5-2, 0-4-1 NSIC) on Sunday. Both matches are set to kick-off at 1 p.m. at the Regional Event Center in Marshall.

The match-up: Southwest Minnesota State is 3-8-1 all-time against Augustana. The two teams first met during the 2000 season. Augustana has won eight consecutive matches against the Mustangs, going back to the 2004 season.

SMSU holds a two-game lead (10-8-2) over Wayne State in the all-time series. The two teams first met during the 1997 season. SMSU held the upper hand in the series, going 8-1 against the Wildcats in the first nine meetings between the two teams. Last season, SMSU and Wayne State played to a 1-1 draw in Wayne, Neb.

Last time out: Minnesota State University, Mankato scored four goals in the second half to beat Southwest Minnesota State 4-0 last Sunday afternoon.

After holding the Mavericks scoreless in the first half, SMSU gave up an early goal in the second half, when Brittany Henry scored unassisted in the 47th minute.  Brianne West added another goal in the 60th minute, and Tori Meinhardt in the 66th minute.  To pad the lead, Courtney Vallarelli scored a goal in the 79th minute.

SMSU's goalkeeper Sonya Smith finished with a career-high 19 saves.

In the record book: Senior forward Kelly Fitzgerald continues to make her way up the all-time scoring list at SMSU. The senior's 14 career goals, ranks her 10th all-time at SMSU. Fitzgerald leads the Mustangs in scoring 3-2= 8 points on the 2011 season.

Back-stopping the Mustangs: Freshman goalkeeper Sonya Smith has been nothing short of spectacular in the net for SMSU this season. Smith made an impact for the Mustangs her first weekend in goal, earning NSIC Defensive Player of the Week honors on Sept. 7. She was the first Mustangs soccer player to earn NSIC player of the week honors since Ellen Diekemper was named offensive player of the week on Oct. 2, 2007.

By the numbers: SMSU freshman netminder Sonya Smith has moved her way into the women's soccer national rankings. Smith ranks third in all of Division II with 89 saves (9.89 saves per game, ranking first in the NSIC) on the season. She also ranks 27th in the country with a .864 save percentage, which also ranks second amongst goalkeepers in the NSIC. 

Scouting the Vikings: Augustana enters the contest owners of a 5-5-0 overall record, including 2-3-2 in NSIC play. The Vikings have scored 13 goals on the season. Mackenzie Trom leads the Vikings in scoring 4-1= 9 points. Amanda Wagner has started all games for the Vikings in goal. She has allowed 14 goals, while making 56 saves and is 5-5 on the season. Augustana is coming off back-to-back losses against Winona State and Upper Iowa.

Scouting the Wildcats: Wayne State enters the weekend 3-5-2 overall, 0-4-1 in NSIC play. The Wildcats are coming off a loss and a tie last weekend. WSC has scored eight goals on the season, while allowing 14. Alexa Romek leads the Wildcats in scoring 2-1= 5 points. Jessica Stringer owns a 3-2 record in net for the Wildcats, appearing in eight matches, including seven starts.

In the ranks: SMSU earned a spot in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Central Region rankings last week. The Mustangs debuted at No. 10 in the regional rankings. SMSU has since dropped out of the rankings.

Watch us on New Media TV: All SMSU home soccer matches will be available to watch live for FREE via web streaming through New Media TV. Click HERE for live video streaming of SMSU home games.

We'll do it live: Live statistics will be available for ALL SMSU home soccer matches. Click HERE for live stats for SMSU's games against Augustana and Wayne State this weekend.

Returning veterans: SMSU returns 10 players from the 2010 roster with playing experience at SMSU. The Mustangs return a core of five seniors, including last season's leading goal scorer Kelly Fitzgerald and All-NSIC selection goalkeeper Kendra Olchefske, Brittany Oehlerking, Alyssa Lavorata, and Amber Williamson each have contributed to the Mustang soccer program during their careers. SMSU also returns three sophomores and three juniors from 2010.

California connection: Transfer student-athlete Vanesa Corona and freshman Kailey Fernandez both call the state of California home. Corona is a transfer from Cypress College in Cypress, Calif. who scored 21 goals in two seasons at Cypress College. Fernandez comes to Marshall via Villa Park High School in Orange, Calif. She led her team in goals and was named the team's defensive MVP as a senior.

Seeing double: Twin sister's Shayna and Sonya Smith from Anoka, Minn. join the Mustangs for their freshman season in 2011. They join a team that is no stranger to sibling connections. Current Mustang sophomore Whitney Borstad played one season with her older sister Tatum Borstad, SMSU's all-time leader in minutes played, who played with her older sister Kayla Borstad during her senior season in 2007.

What happened in 2010: SMSU finished the 2010 season 1-11-4 overall, including 0-9-4 in NSIC play. Kelly Fitzgerald led the team scoring four goals while adding one assist for nine points on the season. Goalkeeper Kendra Olchefske was named All-NSIC third team in 2010. Olchefske finished the 2010 season ranked second in the NSIC with 8.69 saves per game.

The coach: TJ Buchholz is in his first season as head coach at SMSU in 2011 with a record of 4-4, 3-1 in NSIC play. Buchholz was named the fourth head coach in program history on April 19, 2011. Buchholz has nine seasons of head coaching experience at the collegiate level. He came to SMSU after spending the 2010 season as assistant women's soccer coach at NCAA Division I California-Riverside. Prior to UC-Riverside, Buchholz spent two seasons (2008-09) as the head women's and men's soccer coach at Wartburg College (Iowa) and seven seasons (2001-07) as head coach of the men's program at Northwestern College (Iowa). He also served one season as the Northwestern head women's soccer coach (2007).  His career head coaching record in women's soccer is 42-19-5 in three seasons and 99-69-7 in nine seasons as a men's head coach.

According to the coaches: Southwest Minnesota State was picked to finish 14th in the NSIC preseason poll in 2011. Winona State was picked as the preseason favorite for the second consecutive season.

1. Winona State (12) 168
2. Minnesota Duluth (1) 146
3. Minnesota State (1) 141
4. Augustana 122
5. University of Mary 115
6. Bemidji State 111
7. St. Cloud State 102
8. Upper Iowa 92
9. Wayne State 80
10. Northern State 62
11.Concordia-St. Paul 53
12. Minnesota, Crookston 31
13. MSU Moorhead 29
14. SMSU 22

History lesson: 2011 marks the 16th season of women's college soccer at Southwest Minnesota State. SMSU owns an all-time record of 86-180-19, including 53-76-12 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play.

Stay connected: Stay connected with SMSU soccer all season long at www.smsumustangs.com The Mustangs are also on Facebook and Twitter.

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