OPENING KICK
After going 1-1 last weekend, the Southwest Minnesota State soccer team will head on it's first road trip this weekend with a pair of NSIC games versus Concordia-St. Paul and Minnesota State. Both games are set to start at 1 p.m.

OPPONENTS AT A GLANCE
CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL—Concordia-St. Paul opened NSIC play last week facing Minnesota State and suffered a 3-0 loss. The Golden Bears bounced back and recorded it's first win of the season with a double-overtime victory to Viterbo (Wis.) 4-3 last week. CSP finished 2014 with a 5-11-2 overall record and 4-9-2 in loop play.

MINNESOTA STATE—No. 11 Minnesota State started the season 3-0 but suffered a loss to powerhouse Grand Valley State last week. The Mavericks will face USF on Saturday before playing SMSU on Sunday. MSU finished 2014 22-1 overall and a perfect 15-0 in the NSIC and lost to Central Missouri in the Central Region Tournament championship, 3-2.

SERIES HISTORY
CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL—Southwest Minnesota State will meet Concordia-St. Paul for the 19th time in program history on Saturday afternoon with SMSU holding a 10-7-1 advantage in a series that started back in the 1999 season. The Mustangs hold a 4-3-1 record in games played at Sea Foam Stadium. The Golden Bears have won seven of the last 10 games but the Mustangs have taken the last two match ups by shutout. 

MINNESOTA STATE—SMSU will face Minnesota State for the 17th time in program history on Sunday with MSU holding a dominating 14-1-1 record in a series that started back in 1996. The Mustangs will look for its second victory in Mankato and conference win this weekend, as the thier lone win comes back in 2013 at the Central Region Tournament. 

HEAD COACH
Erin Kasmarik-Mallett is in her first season as head women's soccer coach at Southwest Minnesota State in 2015. She was named to the position on July 23, 2015. Kasmarik-Mallett, who becomes the fifth head coach in program history, comes to SMSU after serving as the head boys' soccer coach at Brookings (S.D.) High School for two seasons (2013-14) and has also served as an assistant women's soccer coach at South Dakota State University. She has also coached several club teams in the state of South Dakota since 2010.

RECORD ON THE ROAD
Southwest Minnesota State finished 4-4 in road games last season after recorded a program-best 9-3-1 in 2013. SMSU is a combined 38-78-12 in road games since 2000.