THIS WEEK

-The Southwest Minnesota State University soccer team (1-3-5 overall, 1-3-2 NSIC) travel for a pair of conference match-ups against Wayne State and Augustana. 

-The Mustangs will take on the Wildcats at 2 p.m. on Friday before going to Sioux Falls for a match-up against the Vikings at 1 p.m., on Sunday.

    LAST WEEK

-SMSU went 1-0-1 on the weekend, tying 2-2 with SCSU on Friday before defeating UMD 2-0 on Sunday.

-The Mustangs led 2-1 in the second half against the Huskies on Friday, with goals from Alex Lotts and Selena Prolic, but allowed a goal in the 84th minute to finish level. 

-SMSU broke through on Sunday, defeating the Bulldogs on the strength of goals from Lotts and Kirsten Wetterstrom, and a clean sheet from Rachel Hicks.

-Sunday marked the first win in the Mustang career of Clay Glasgow.

    ABOUT SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA STATE   

-The Mustangs are 1-3-2 in conference play.

-Alex Lotts and Kirsten Wetterstrom lead the team offensively, each accounting two goals and an assist.

-K. Wetterstrom, Lotts, Selena Prolic, Ciarra Valdez, Erin Wetterstrom, and Sydney Johnson have each distributed an assist.

-Katie Oatman has held down the backline this season, leading the team in minutes and has started all nine games. 

-Rachel Hicks has started seven games in net for the SMSU, recording three clean sheets, and has 28 saves on a .848 save percentage. 

    FRESH FACES

-10 newcomers made their Mustang debuts this season. 

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

-Sydney Johnson has played in seven games, assisting on the first goal of the season in the season opener.

-Ciarra Valdez is one of four players to start every game, recording an assist, taking a shot and playing in 706 minutes. 

-Brooke Wetterstrom, who has played in every game, has 11 shots and seven shots on goal. She also scored her first career goal against Winona State.

-Haley Mason, Hannah Walburg, Tessa Borwick, and Lenee Chavez have all recorded at least one start.

    SERIES HISTORY

-SMSU and Wayne State will meet for the 31st time in program history, with the Mustangs holding a 16-11-3 advantage.

-Their first meeting came in 1997, while their last meeting came in October of last year, when the Wildcats scored two goals in the second half to win 3-2 in Marshall.

-Sunday will mark the 25th match-up between SMSU and Augustana, with the Vikings leading the series 19-4-1.

-Their last match-up came a season ago, as Augie topped the Mustangs 2-0 in Marshall.

    SCOUTING WAYNE STATE

-Emily Hester enters her second season as head coach of the Wildcats.

-WSC has opened the season 1-5-3 and 1-3-2 in conference, beating Minnesota Crookston and tying Bemidji State last weekend.

-The Wildcats were picked to finish 10th in the NSIC preseason coaches poll.

-WSC is led by Annika Syvrud, the reigning NSIC Offensive Player of the Week who has netted three goals, including a game winner, and Hayden Wallace, who has allowed eight goals and made 33 saves in five games this season.

    SCOUTING AUGUSTANA

-Brandon Barkus is in his 17th season as the head coach of Augustana. 

-The Vikings are 3-4-2 overall and 3-2-1  in conference after losing to Bemidji State and defeating Minnesota Crookston last weekend.

-The Vikings were picked to finish third in the NSIC preseason coaches poll.

-Augie is led by Morgan Keirstead, who has four goals and an assist, and Jillian Barkus, who has allowed 12 goals and made 31 saves in nine 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 110-158-21 in 289 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 470 games compiling an all-time record of 155-281-34. 

-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