BURNSVILLE, Minn. – The Southwest Minnesota State University's soccer team was picked to finish 13th in the annual 16-team Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll released on Monday.
 
Minnesota State was selected as the preseason favorites to win the conference earning 217 points and eight first-place votes (coaches can't vote for their own school). Bemidji State earned 210 points to finish in second place (five first-place votes), followed by Augustana (three first-place votes) with 199 points, Concordia-St. Paul with 178, while UMary rounded out the top five earning 159 points.
 
Minot State was selected sixth place with 146 points with St. Cloud State in seventh totaling 145 points, followed by Northern State in eighth with 141 points, Winona State with 101 and Wayne State closing the top 10 with 95 points.
 
Minnesota Duluth slots in 11th place after receiving 89 points, with Sioux Falls being selected 12th at 67 points before the Mustangs, who received 63 points. 
 
SMSU sophomore forward Kirsten Wetterstrom and senior defender Katie Oatman were both named 'Players to Watch' in 2022.
 
"Kirsten is a very positive and genuine person," said head coach Clay Glasgow. "She constantly seeks opportunity to create meaningful relationships with her teammates, recruits, and the campus community. Kirsten brings a dynamic and creative style of play and loves to run at defenders. She is always looking to penetrate and generate opportunities for her teammates in the final third of the field."
 
"Katie is a very passionate player," Glasgow said. "She brings a lot of positive energy to our team environment. She absolutely loves Mustangs Athletics and is always looking to positively influence her teammates. Offensively, she loves to penetrate and connect with the midfielders. Katie possess great leadership qualities and plays a vital role keeping the team organized. Her body language is always positive which illustrates her optimistic mindsets in life."
 
Jenny Vetter, a senior forward from Minnesota State, was named the NSIC Preseason Player of the Year, while senior defender Megan Dahl, from Bemidji State, was named the NSIC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.
 
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 Gasgow, fielding a roster that includes a pair of seniors, six juniors, 12 sophomores, a redshirt freshman, and seven true 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, which opened fall camp on Monday (Aug. 8), starts the regular season on Aug. 26 at East Central (Okla.). The home, and conference, opener will be Sept. 9 versus Upper Iowa.