THIS WEEK

The Southwest Minnesota State University soccer team (2-6-7 overall, 2-6-4 NSIC) travel to the Twin Cities to take on Concordia-St. Paul on Friday at 7 p.m., before coming home to face Minnesota State at 1 p.m., on Sunday.

    LAST WEEK

SMSU went 1-1 on the weekend, losing 3-0 to Bemidji State on Friday before defeating Minnesota Crookston 6-0 on Sunday.

Bemidji State scored a pair of first half goals before adding another goal in the second half to defeat the Mustangs on Friday.

On a Sunday that celebrated the contributions from six SMSU seniors, it was their youth that helped the offense explode. Four of the six goals were scored by underclassmen, while also contributing four of the seven assists. 

    ABOUT SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA STATE   

The Mustangs are 2-6-4 in conference play.

Alex Lotts has led the team offensively, netting six goals and adding two assists.

Kirsten Wetterstrom has scored three goals, and Haley Mason has collected a pair, with both dishing out two assists. 

Brooke Wetterstrom has also scored two goals on the season, taking 10 shots on goal, third on the team. 

Selena Prolic, Madi Foutz, Kylee Bennett and Hannah Walburg have each scored a goal this season.  

Emma Dahnert is tied for the team lead with two assists in just seven games, and has made four starts.

Prolic, Foutz, Ciarra Valdez, Julia Sullivan, Erin Wetterstrom, Abbey Hoisington, Sandra Kraling, and Sydney Johnson have each distributed an assist.

Katie Oatman has held down the back-line this season, leading the team in minutes and has started all 15 games, scoring a goal and sending two assists in the process. 

Rachel Hicks has started 10 games in net for the SMSU, recording three clean sheets, and has 45 saves on a .804 save percentage, allowing just 1.10 goals per game. 

    FRESH FACES

11 newcomers made their Mustang debuts this season. 

Rachel Hicks has been solid in net for SMSU, recording three clean sheets in ten starts.

Sydney Johnson has played in 11 games, including 13 starts, and assisted on the first goal of the season in the season opener.

Ciarra Valdez is one of seven players to start at least 11 games, recording an assist, taking a shot and playing in 873 minutes. 

Brooke Wetterstrom, who has played in 12 games, has 15 shots and 10 shots on goal. She also scored her first career goal against Winona State.

Haley Mason has started 10 games for the Mustangs, tallying two goals and two assists in 864 minutes.

Hannah Walburg, Tessa Borwick, Sandra Kraling, and Lenee Chavez have all recorded at least one start.

    SERIES HISTORY

SMSU and Concordia-St. Paul will meet for the 25th time in program history, with CSP leading the series 12-11-1.

Their first meeting came in 1999, while their last meeting came in October of last year, when the Golden Bears defeated the Mustangs 2-1.

Sunday will mark the 23rd match-up between SMSU and Minnesota State, with the Mavericks holding a commanding 20-1-1 advantage.

Their last match-up came a season ago, as MSU defeated SMSU 2-0 in Mankato.

    SCOUTING CONCORDIA-St. PAUL

Steve Bellis enters his 12th season as head coach of the Golden Bears.

CSP has opened the season 6-5-4 and 6-3-3 in conference after losing at home to UMary and tying Minot State

The Golden Bears were picked to finish fourth in the NSIC preseason coaches poll.

CSP is led by Katie Anderson, who has netted seven goals, and Ashlyn Waldon, who has allowed 13 goals and made 45 saves in 14 games this season.

    SCOUTING MinNesota STATE

Brian Bahl is in his 10th season as the head coach of Minnesota State. 

 MSU is 10-1-4 overall and 8-0-4 in conference after tying Minot State and defeating UMary at home last weekend. 

The Mavericks were picked to win the NSIC in the preseason coaches poll

MSU is led by Jenny Vetter, who has scored 10 goals, including four game winners, and Mackenzie Rath, who has allowed just eight goals and made 55 saves in 15 starts.

    2022 OUTLOOK

The Southwest Minnesota State soccer program returns 18 letter winners from a youthful 2021 team that finished 4-11-2 overall and 3-10-2 in conference play but closed the season going 3-5-2. 

First-year head coach Clay Glasgow, fielding a roster that includes a pair of seniors, six juniors, 12 sophomores, and eight freshmen, welcomes back 100% of goal scoring from a year ago, led by Alex Lotts and Abbey Hoisington. 

Lotts, the junior striker from Champlin, Minn., returns after tying for the team lead with four goals and also led the team with four assists. 

Hoisington, the senior forward from Chantilly, Va., scored four goals on 19 shots on goal. 

Sophomore forward Kirsten Wetterstrom returns after earning All-NSIC second team honors a season ago, scoring three goals on a team-high 32 shots. 

Senior defender Katie Oatman is back to patrol the back line after leading the team with 1419 minutes played last season. 

Sophomore Julianne Arballo is the lone returner in net for the Mustangs after going 2-2-1 last season while allowing 1.85 goals against average.

    SMSU PICKED 13TH IN NSIC PRESEASON POLL

SMSU was voted 13th in the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll

Kirsten Wetterstrom and Katie Oatman were named NSIC Players to Watch

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

    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 5-19-1 all-time in season openers following this season's 2-2 tie against East Central (Okla.)

    SMSU ALL-TIME IN THE NSIC 

The 2022 campaign marks the 25th season SMSU has competed in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. 

SMSU has an all-time record of 111-161-25 in 297 conference games, finishing with a winning conference record in nine seasons. 

    MUSTANG HISTORY 

Southwest Minnesota State is in its 27th season of soccer in 2022 and 26th season of competition.

SMSU has played 476 games compiling an all-time record of 156-284-36. 

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