Upcoming Event: Women's Soccer versus Wyoming on September 18, 2025 at 7 p.m.
/
7 p.m.
Women's Soccer
vs Wyoming
South Dakota State University Athletics
Friday, October 6
Brookings, S.D.
6 p.m.
South Dakota State University
vs
Omaha
Photo by: Inertia Sports Media/Dave Eggen
Soccer hosts Omaha Friday at Fishback
10/4/2017 11:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
| Â GAME 13: South Dakota State (5-4-3, 1-0 Summit League) vs Omaha (4-6-1, 1-0 Summit League) |
| Â When | Â Friday, Oct. 6 | 6 p.m. | |
|  Where |  Fishback Soccer Park | Brookings, S.D. | |
| Â Live Video | Â Jackrabbit All-Access Portal | |
| Â Live Stats | Â GoJacksLive.com | |
|  Game Notes |  South Dakota State | Omaha | |
| Â Social Media | Â Twitter | Facebook | #RabbitsFutbol | |
Previewing the Week
South Dakota State women's soccer returns to Summit League play this weekend with one game, hosting Omaha on Friday at 6 p.m.
The three-time defending Summit League Tournament champions opened league play with a 2-1 overtime win at Denver last week as Nicole Hatcher and Marisa Schulz recorded goals. Hatcher leads the team with 14 points this season, scoring goals in each of the last five games to go along with four assists thus far. Leah Manuleleua had four goals and an assist on the year (nine points) while Annie Williams is third in scoring with five points (two goals, one assist).
Maggie Smither has started 11 games on the year with 12 appearances, positing a 1.18 goals against average with 64 saves in 1067 minutes played. Taylor Lock has played in three games between the pipes, stopping five shots.
Scouting the Mavericks
Omaha (4-6-1, 1-0 Summit League) comes to Fishback Soccer Park on a two-game win streak, picking up a 1-0 victory at Fort Wayne in its Summit League opener last Friday. The Mavericks are 3-2 over their last five games and posted a 3-6-1 record in nonconference action.
The Mavs are led offensively by Abby Meader (three goals, one assist) and Natalie Johnson (three goals), who have seven and six points, respectively, for the season. Carlie Cook has assisted on a team-leading three goals as well.
At goalkeeeper, Haley Johnson (six games, five starts) and Erin Bunker (seven games, six starts) have split time. Johnson has a 0.94 goals against average with 27 saves on the year while Bunker has put together a 2.03 goals against average and 28 saves thus far.
Tim Walters is in his first season leading the Omaha program after six years as an assistant for the Mavericks' men's program.
The Jackrabbits trail in the all-time series with Omaha, 6-3-1, and last season dropped a 1-0 contest on the road. At Fishback Soccer Park, however, the Jacks have won two consecutive matches in the series and are 2-2-1 against the Mavs at home.
Last Time Out
The Jackrabbits picked up a pair of wins last weekend, taking down Denver 2-1 in overtime and Bellevue, 3-1. Over the two games, SDSU put up 39 shots and had 11 on goal, fighting rainy weather on Friday's game at Denver and steady winds over 20 miles per hour on Sunday.
Down 1-0 early against Denver, State fought back to tie it early in the second on Nicole Hatcher's goal at 47:22 (assisted by Annie Williams) before winning it in the 96th when Hatcher and Carina McLennan assisted on a game-winning goal from Marisa Schulz.
Against Bellevue, Leah Manuleleua gave the Jacks an early lead, and though the Bruins tied it midway through the first, State responded with a pair of second half goals to take the win. Hatcher scored the game-winner unassisted in the 53rd, and Rachel Hewitt extended the lead with her first career goal in the 90th after a Carina McLennan assist.
Maggie Smither started both games and played 170 minutes, recording 11 saves with two goals allowed. Taylor Lock played the other 16 minutes and did not allow a goal.
Jackrabbit Quick Hitters
- Nicole Hatcher is second on SDSU's career assist record list with 20. Next up is Diana Potterveld, who holds the school record with 21 assists.
- Hatcher has recorded a point in five consecutive games, a mark that ranks third all-time in SDSU history. She trails her own record of seven consecutive games with a point (set in 2016) and Diana Potterveld, who scored in six straight games in 2015.
- The Jackrabbits' 30 shots against North Dakota on Sept. 15Â were the most by the program since Oct. 25, 2015 when State had 29 against Fort Wayne.
- The Jackrabbits are 19-16-42 in games that go to overtime. In single overtime contests, SDSU is 9-9. In double overtime matches, the Jacks are 10-7-42.
- SDSU's game against Utah on Aug. 22 was its first against a ranked opponent since the 2014 NCAA Tournament when the Jacks faced off against North Carolina Nov. 14. SDSU is 1-7 all-time against Division I ranked opponents, claiming a win in 2008 against No. 15 Colorado in the NCAA Tournament.
- SDSU played a pair of Power Five Schools this season in Iowa State and Utah. All-time against schools from the Big 10, Big 12, Pac-10, SEC and ACC, the Jacks are a combined 4-23-5. Three of those wins and two ties have come against Iowa State.
- South Dakota State is 5-11-2 all-time in season openers. In home openers, the team is 6-10-2.
- The Jackrabbits have one five consecutive Summit League openers and are 10-1 all-time in those contests.
Jacks rake in Summit League honors
Leah Manuleleua and Nicole Hatcher have combined for three Summit League weekly awards this season, with Hatcher picking up two Offensive Player of the Week nods in the last three weeks.
- Hatcher was selected as a Co-Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 2 after notching six points to help SDSU go 2-0. Hatcher had a goal and an assist in both games, hitting an equalizer against Denver and the game-winner against Bellevue.
- Hatcher was also picked as the Summit League's Offensive Player of the Week Sept. 19 after netting two goals the week prior.
- Manuleleua was picked as the Co-Offensive Player of the Week Sept. 5 after she netted the game-winner at Creighton, sending the Jackrabbits home with a 3-2 golden-goal victory after her one-touch score in the 93rd minute.
Eyes on the Prize
Despite going winless through the first two games of the season, the Jackrabbits will look to program history and trust its not how you start, but how you finish. Since joining the NCAA Division I ranks in 2004, SDSU has gone 0-2 to open a season seven times but has finished with a losing record just once, earning a trip to the NCAA Tournament in three of those seasons.
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Jacks Tabbed Second In Preseason Poll
Three-time defending league champion South Dakota State was picked second in the Summit League's Women's Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll, announced Aug. 10 by the organization. Just two points separate the top four in the poll, as the Jackrabbits received two first-place votes and 40 total points, tied with North Dakota State. Despite garnering only one first-place vote, Denver led the pack with 41 points and Oral Roberts, which received the most first-place votes, three, was fourth with 39 tallies. South Dakota and Omaha tied for fifth in the poll with 22 points, while Western Illinois (12) and Fort Wayne (eight) closed out the rankings.
Hatcher, Smither Named Players to Watch
As part of the preseason poll release Aug. 10, The Summit League announced its Players To Watch list, which included SDSU's Nicole Hatcher and Maggie Smither.
- Nicole Hatcher turned in a standout season in 2016 where she earned All-Summit League First Team honors with 22 points (six goals, 10 assists) for the No. 2 spot on SDSU's single season assists record list. The Sioux Falls, South Dakota native had four game-winners, and tallied points in a school-record seven consecutive games.
- After splitting time in the net last season as a redshirt freshman, Maggie Smither inherits the starting role between the pipes for the 2017 campaign with high aspirations. Smither set the school record for goals against average with a 0.34 mark and put together the second-best saves percentage (.911) in program history last year. She allowed just four goals over 1,057 minutes played in 2016, and came up with 41 saves while posting a 7-2-4 record in net. The Sioux Falls, S.D., native was named to the All-Freshman team by The Summit League last year and was the league's November Female Athlete of the Month. Smither came up big in the postseason as well, logging consecutive shutouts in the Summit League Final and NCAA Tournament First Round game.
A New Era
A new face is leading the Jackrabbits for just the second time in program history, as Brock Thompson assumed head coaching duties Jan. 31, 2017 after 17-year head coach Lang Wedemeyer stepped down. Thompson had been with the program nine years prior, dating back to 2008, and brings head coaching experience into the new role. Thompson spent three years as the head coach at University of Mary (Bismarck, N.D.) and three years at the University of North Dakota (Grand Forks, N.D.).
Upcoming Promotions
South Dakota State women's soccer has several upcoming promotions for its home games this season:
| Oct. 26 | South Dakota | SDSU Soccer T-Shirts |
| Oct. 29 | North Dakota State | SDSU Rally Towels |
Jacks on the Air
South Dakota State women's soccer and the Jackrabbit Sports Network have announced a partnership with Brookings Radio for three broadcasts this season. Fans can tune into 1430 KBRK-AM for Jackrabbit games against Iowa State (Sept. 1), South Dakota (Oct. 26) and North Dakota State (Oct. 29). The audio will also be streamed for free through the Jackrabbit All-Access portal. Subscribers of the video stream will hear the broadcast as part of their package for those games as well. Tyler Merriam and Kiley Cirillo will call the action. Merriam is the lead play-by-play voice for the Jackrabbit Sports Network, while Cirillo is the Brookings Fútbol Club Director of Coaching. Previously, Cirillo was the head women's soccer coach at the University of Indianapolis and Missouri Southern.
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Players Mentioned
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