THIS WEEK

The Southwest Minnesota State University soccer team (4-11-1 overall, 3-10-1 NSIC) travels to Sioux Falls, S.D., to face the University of Sioux Falls (3-11-3, 3-8-3) at 5 p.m. on Friday for its final match of the season.

    LAST WEEK

The Mustangs dropped a pair of weekend matches, falling 2-1 at home to Concordia-St. Paul on Friday before dropping a 2-0 match to Minnesota State on the road.

On Friday, A scoreless tie was broken by the Mustangs in the 61st minute when Kirsten Wetterstrom netted the opener off a Kylee Bennett pass to give SMSU a 1-0 lead before a pair of CSP goals in the 68th and 78th minute would be enough to get past SMSU

On Sunday, the Mavericks dominated from start to finish, outshooting SMSU 30-5 while recording 13 shots on net to the Mustangs two.

    SERIES HISTORY

SMSU is 9-6 all-time against USF, meeting for the first time in 1996. 

Their last meeting came in November of 2019, when SMSU netted the deciding goal with a second left in the match to win 2-1 at home.

    ERIN KASMARIK-MALLETT FILES

Erin Kasmarik-Mallett, the fifth head coach in Mustang history, enters her seventh season leading the Mustangs, and her sixth season of competition.

Kasmarik-Mallett has compiled a career record of 34-67-4 overall, including 30-56-3 in conference play.

    YOUTH MOVEMENT

This past weekend saw ten freshmen get action for the Mustangs, including seven in the starting XI's.

True freshman Julianne Arballo recorded starts in both matches and made a career-high ten saves against Minnesota State on Sunday.

True freshman Kirsten Wetterstrom scored the only SMSU goal over the weekend, netting the opener on Friday night against CSP

Kylee Bennett collected an assist on the goal on Friday night, while making her first start since the opening match on Sunday.

The 2021 season has seen 15 freshmen get action for the Mustangs, with 12 tallying starts.

    ABOUT SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA STATE   

The Mustangs are 3-10-1 in conference play

Alex Lotts leads the team offensively, scoring four goals and dishing four assists for the Mustangs on the season.

Abbey Hoisington has also helped shoulder the offensive load, tying the team with four goals while having a team-high 18 shots on net.

Katie Oatman has held down the defense this season, leading the team in minutes and has taken seven shots, including a pair of shots on goal and has recorded an assist. 

Meghan Harkin and Julianne Arballo have started every game in net for the SMSU, combining for 1.47 goals against and three shutouts. 

    SCOUTING Sioux Falls

Brittany Domino is in his seventh season as head women's soccer coach at CSP.

USF is 3-11-3 and is 3-8-3 in the NSIC after dropping a 2-1 match against Minnesota State and a 3-0 match at Concordia-St. Paul.

USF was picked to finish 14th in the NSIC preseason coaches poll

USF is lead by Grace Held, whose two goals and 12 shots on goal leads the team. 

Senior Alexis Wemhoff is 2-6-2 in goal for USF with four shutouts and 100 saves. 

    2021 Outlook   

SMSU returns two of their top three scorers from 2019 in Abbey Hoisington and Alex Lotts, with Katie Oatman and Jessica Jugovich also scoring goals in 2019.

SMSU was voted ninth in the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll

Abbey Hoisington and Katie Oatman were named NSIC Players to Watch.

    SMSU PICKED 9TH IN NSIC PRESEASON POLL

SMSU was voted ninth in the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll

Abbey Hoisington and Katie Oatman were named NSIC Players to Watch

Minnesota State was picked to top the conference, with Augustana, Concordia-St. Paul, Bemidji State, and St Cloud State rounding out the top five.

    REWINDING TO 2019

SMSU is coming off one of its best seasons in recent years in 2019, finishing with an 11-7 overall record, including 9-6 NSIC. 

It was the program's first winning season since 2014 and also qualified for the NSIC Tournament for the first time since 2015. 

Abbey Hoisington returns after collecting All-NSIC second team. 

    SMSU IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT 

SMSU's lone NCAA Tournament appearance was made in 2013.

SMSU is 2-1 in the NCAA tournament all time, outscoring teams by a score of 5-4.

    SEASON OPENERS 

SMSU is 5-19 all-time in season openers following this season's 1-0 victory on the road  against Black Hills State.

    SMSU ALL-TIME IN THE NSIC 

The 2021 campaign marks the 24th season SMSU has competed in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. 

SMSU has an all-time record of 109-155-19 in 281 conference games, finishing with a winning conference record in nine seasons. 

    MUSTANG HISTORY 

Southwest Minnesota State is in its 26th season of soccer in 2021 and 25th season of competition.

SMSU has played 460 games compiling an all-time record of 154-276-28. 

SMSU has made 14 NSIC tournaments, and reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament in 2013.

SMSU has recorded four winning seasons in program history