THIS WEEK

-The Southwest Minnesota State University soccer team (1-1) begins its trek through the NSIC on Friday, Sept. 17, traveling to Upper Iowa (2-0), and Winona State (1-1) on Sunday, Sept 19.

-Kickoff in Fayette, Iowa is set for 2pm Friday, while kickoff in Winona, Minn. is scheduled for 1 pm on Sunday.

    LAST WEEK

-The Mustangs finished out non-conference play at home, falling 1-0 in overtime to No. 24 Missouri Western

-Meghan Harkin was on her game, sending away six shots before a 30 yard strike from the Griffons in the 99th minute to lead them to victory

-SMSU was out-shot 13-9, with Alex Lotts collecting three shots, including one on net, and Erin Wetterstrom, who added two shots.

    SERIES HISTORY

-SMSU is 5-9-2 all time against Upper Iowa, with their first meeting coming in 2006

-Their last meeting came in 2019, when the Mustangs scored two goals in each period to take a 4-0 victory  

-SMSU is 1-31-3 all time against Winona State, meeting the first time in 1996

-Their last meeting came on November 1st, 2019, when the Mustangs defeated the Warriors 1-0 in Winona.

    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 31-57-3 overall, including 27-46-2 in conference play.

    BETWEEN THE POSTS

-SMSU redshirt freshman Meghan Harkin continued a strong start to her freshman campaign on Sunday, recording six saves on seven shots on goal against Missouri Western.

-Harkin leads the NSIC in both goals against average and save percentage, and is tied for first in shutouts.

    YOUTH MOVEMENT

-The home opener saw 10 freshmen get action for the Mustangs, including six in the starting XI.

-Redshirt Meghan Harkin recorded six saves in the match.

-True freshman Erin Wetterstrom was second on the team with two shots.

-True freshman Kylee Bennett added to the offensive attack putting her lone shot on net.

-The 2021 season has seen 11 freshmen get action for the Mustangs, with eight tallying starts.

    ABOUT SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA STATE   

-The Mustangs are 1-1 going into conference play for the first time since 2016

-The Mustangs played in five scrimmages against conference opponents in the spring of 2021, finishing 2-2-1.

-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. 

    SCOUTING UPPER IOWA

-Head coach James Price enters his sixth season leading the charge for the Griffons, and his the seventh head coach in their history.

-UIU has started the season 2-0, defeating Missouri Southern 1-0 before taking down Wisconsin-Parkside 2-1.

-UIU was picked to finish 15th in the NSIC preseason coaches poll

-UIU is lead by Haley Ramberg, who has scored a goal and tallied five shots on goal in the first two games of their season.

-Senior Natalie Rudrud has started both games in net for UIU, recording an .875 save percentage and seven saves overall, while giving up a goals against average of 0.48 per game.

        SCOUTING WINONA STATE

-Head coach Matt Kellogg enters his fourth season leading the charge for the Warriors, with his third season canceled due to COVID-19.

-WSU has started the season 1-1, dropping a 3-1 contest against Wisconsin-Parkside and defeating Northern Michigan 1-0 a week ago. 

-WSU was picked to finish seventh in the NSIC preseason coaches poll

-WSU is lead by Riley Harmon, who had a game winning goal against Northern Michigan, and has three shots in two games for the Warriors.  

-Senior Yanel Ortiz has started both games between the pipes for WSU, recording an .800 save percentage and 12 saves overall. 

    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. 

    ON THE HORIZON

-The Mustangs return home for conference games against Minot State on Friday, Sept. 24, and UMary on Sunday, Sept. 26.

-SMSU opens October back on the road, facing St. Cloud State on Friday, Oct. 1, and at Minnesota Duluth on Sunday, Oct. 3, at noon. 

    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 106-145-19 in 270 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 445 games compiling an all-time record of 151-267-27. 

-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