OPENING KICK
The No. 25 Southwest Minnesota State University soccer team will conclude its 4-game road trip this Saturday and Sunday versus Concordia-St. Paul and No. 2 Minnesota State. The Mustangs are a perfect 7-0 on the road this season and will look to extend their road winning streak against two opponents that they suffered losses to last season. The Mustangs haven't defeated Concordia-St. Paul in seven tries dating back to 2006 and haven't won on the road over CU since 2004. The Mustangs are looking for their first ever win over Minnesota State in series history and will also look to snap the Mavericks' 31-game winning streak over NSIC opponents and 31-game home winning streak.
OPPONENTS AT A GLANCE
CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL --Â The Golden Bears have struggled this season as they currently find themselves ranked 11th in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference with a 4-10 overall record and 3-8 record within the conference. CU is coming off a weekend in which it was swept by Minnesota Duluth and St. Cloud State at home. CU has lost five of its last six games. Alahna Anderson leads the Golden Bear offense with six goals. Steve Bellis is in his third season at the helm of the Golden Bear soccer program.
No. 2 MINNESOTA STATE -- Minnesota State owns the country's ninth-highest scoring offense at 2.93 goals per game. The Mavericks currently ride some incredible streaks: MSU has a 10-game winning streak along with a 31-game NSIC winning streak and a 31-game home unbeaten streak. The pair of 31-game winning streaks rank 12th and tied for 13th all-time in NCAA Division II history. SMSU has never beaten the Mavericks in series history (13-0). Korey Kronforst leads the potent offense with her 14 goals and 32 points. Kronforst has 67 shots with 34 coming on goal. The Mavericks are well balanced as seven players have recorded four or more assists so far this season. Molly McGough will guard the net with her 11-1 record, and .67 goal against average in 1,072 minutes. Brian Bahl is in his first season as head coach.
A WIN OVER CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL WOULD...
-Be SMSU's first win over CU since 2006 when the Mustangs won 2-1 in the second overtime.
-Be
TJ Buchholz's first win over CU
-Be SMSU's first road win over CU since 2004 - SMSU, 3-2
-Be SMSU's eighth straight road win
A WIN OVER NO. 2 MINNESOTA STATE WOULD...
-Give SMSU its first victory over Minnesota State in series history
-Give SMSU its first ever win over a nationally ranked opponent
-Snap MSU's NSIC streak of 31 straight victories (12th in NCAA DII history)
-Snap MSU's home winning streak of 31 games (T13th in NCAA DII history)Â
CADENA'S CLIMBÂÂ
Miranda Cadena scored her 16th career goal versus Northern State to put her in tenth place for most goals scored in SMSU history. Joelle Dean holds the record with 28 goals scored in a career. With 16 in just two seasons, the sophomore forward is on pace to eclipse the all-time record
UNSEL-FISHER
Kendahl Fisher recorded her ninth assist of the season on Oct. 20 versus Northern State to tie the SMSU single-season assist record. She has four Âregular season games left on the schedule to tally an assist and set a new SMSU single-season record. She is already ranked fifth on the SMSU all-time assist list with 14. Nadia Abuayed owns the all-time record with 25 set from 2001-04.
THROWN INTO THE FIRE
True freshman goalkeeper
Brienna Dehkes has accumulated 12 wins this season which is the most in SMSU single-season history and ranks her tied for second on SMSU's all-time wins list behind Lora Moldenhauer's 28.
STACK THE DEHKES
With her six shutouts thus far in 2013, True feshman goalkeeper
Brienna Dehkes has set the new SMSU single-season record for most shutouts by a goalkeeper with six. The six shutouts currently rank her third in SMSU program history behind
Sonya Smith (9) and Lora Moldenhauer (13).