OPENING KICK
The Southwest Minnesota State soccer team (4-8, 3-6 NSIC) continues NSIC play this Saturday and Sunday with a pair of home matches at the Schwan Regional Event Center. The Mustangs will St. Cloud State (6-4-2, 5-2-2 NSIC) on Saturday at 1 p.m., before taking on Minnesota Duluth (5-4-3, 3-2-3 NSIC) on Sunday afternoon starting at 1 p.m. SMSU will be looking to snap a two-game losing streak after dropping matches to Upper Iowa and Winona State last weekend. SMSU has won the last six matches versus SCSU and has won the last two and three of the last four versus UMD.   

OPPONENTS AT A GLANCE
St. Cloud State— St. Cloud State enters play on Saturday splitting a pair of matches at home last weekend, defeating U-Mary, 3-1, before losing to Minot State, 2-0. Maria Kass leads the team with 19 points (8-3--19), while Brooke Bares and Hannah Marion each have three goals. SCSU has scored 17 goals on the season and is averaging 12.1 shots per game. SCSU opponents have scored 20 goals and are averaging 11.8 shots per game.

Minnesota Duluth— Minnesota Duluth plays at Sioux Falls on Saturday before taking on SMSU on Sunday. UMD went winless in two home matches last weekend, losing 3-0 to Minot State, before earning a 1-1 tie with U-Mary. The Bulldogs are led by Skye Finley, who has a team-leading three goals and nine points on the season. Kalley Beatt and Destiny Schmitz each have two goals and five assists. UMD has scored 11 goals and is averaging 12.8 shots per game, while opponents have scored 15 goals and average 10.5 shots per game.

SERIES HISTORY
St. Cloud State— St. Cloud State leads the all-time series, 13-8-1, in a match-up that started in 1996. SCSU won 13 of the first 16 meetings, but SMSU has won the past six games, including 3-0 last season in Marshall. SMSU is 5-7 all-time in games played in Marshall.

Minnesota Duluth— Minnesota Duluth holds a 22-3 all-time advantage in a series that started in 1996. UMD won the first 21 meetings, but SMSU has won three of the last four, including last season 1-0 in Marshall. SMSU is 2-8 all-time in games played in Marshall.

HEAD COACH
Erin Kasmarik-Mallett is in her second season as head coach at Southwest Minnesota State and has an overall record of 12-17-2, including 11-12-1 in NSIC play. She was named to the position on July 23, 2015. Kasmarik-Mallet, the fifth women's soccer head coach at SMSU, posted the most wins (8) for a first-year head coach in the program's history in 2015.

HARTMANN LEADING THE WAY
Junior Amanda Hartmann leads the team with four goals this season and also leads the team with nine points. She has attempted 26 shots with 11 on goal. Freshman Alexandra Miskowiec ranks second on the squad with three goals and has recorded eight points, while junior Emily Huddleston has two goals and seven points.   

SECOND HALF BLUES
Southwest Minnesota State has struggled in the second half this season when it comes to scoring. SMSU has been outscored 13-4 in the second half, compared to being outscored 14-10 in the first half.

OFFENSIVE OUTBURST
Southwest Minnesota State broke out of a scoreless streak in a big way in a 5-1 victory over U-Mary on Oct. 2. After suffering back-to-back shutouts versus Minnesota State and Minot State, SMSU scored a season-high five goals versus the Marauders. It was the first time SMSU scored five goals in a match since defeating St. Cloud State, 5-1 on Oct. 4, 2014.

MUSTANGS IN EXTRA TIME
Southwest Minnesota State is 2-0 in overtime matches this season following its 3-2 victory in extra time over Northern State on Sept. 18. Despite conceding game tying goals during regulation of those two matches, the Mustangs have shown resiliency with two game winners in overtime periods. This season now marks the first time the Mustangs have won multiple overtime matches since the 2006 season. SMSU has never posted three overtime wins in the program's 20-year history.

FOUR MUSTANGS RECORD NUMBER 1
A total of four different Mustangs scored their first goals of the season in a victory over U-Mary on Oct. 2. Emily Hofmann, Morgan Weyer-Coates, Morgan Darner and Sarah Keppler all reached the back of the net to lead SMSU to the 5-1 win.

STRIKING QUICK
The Mustangs have been able to get on the scoresheet early in three matches this season. SMSU took an early lead over Concordia-St. Paul in the 13th minute on Sept. 23 and also scored first versus Sioux Falls in the 12th minute on Sept. 9. SMSU scored in the eighth minute in the win over U-Mary on Oct. 2. The fastest goal in SMSU history was scored by Miranda Cadena in 2014 just 23 seconds versus Augustana.

HISTORY LESSON
Southwest Minnesota State holds a 132-225-26 all-time record since it began competing in women's soccer in 1996. The Mustangs have a mark of 90-111-18 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference competition and have produced three winning seasons and one NCAA tournament appearance.

UP NEXT
Southwest Minnesota State will play at Bemidji State on Saturday, Oct. 22, and at Minnesota Crookston on Sunday, Oct. 23.