Jacks host USD, travel to NDSU this weekend

Thursday, October 11

Brookings, S.D.

6 p.m.

South Dakota State University

South Dakota

Photo by: Mark Smither

10/9/2018 9:56:00 AM | Women's Soccer

GAMES 14-15: South Dakota State (8-4-1, 3-0) vs. South Dakota (7-4-2, 2-1); at North Dakota State (6-5, 3-1)

When	Thursday, Oct. 11 \| 6 p.m.	Sunday, Oct. 14 \| 1 p.m.
Where	Fishback Soccer Park \| Brookings, S.D.	Dacotah Field \| Fargo, N.D.
Live Video	Jackrabbits All-Access	Bison All-Access
Live Stats	GoJacksLive.com	GoJacksLive.com
Live Audio/Radio	Unavailable	Bison All-Access / Bison1660 & 92.7 FM
Television	Unavailable	Midco Sports Network
Game Notes	South Dakota State \| South Dakota \| North Dakota State \| The Summit League
Social Media	Twitter \| Facebook \| #RabbitsFutbol

Previewing the Week
Off to a 3-0 start in Summit League play, the Jackrabbits return to the field this weekend for a pair of rivalry contests, hosting South Dakota Thursday night at 6 p.m. before traveling to North Dakota State on Sunday. Kickoff in Fargo, North Dakota is set for 1 p.m.

Thursday's game is the latest SD Corn Showdown Series bout between the two in-state rivals, with the winner earning a point towards the year-end trophy chase. USD currently holds a 1-0 lead in the 2018-19 series.

The first 250 fans at Thursday's contest will receive a limited edition Jackrabbit Soccer shirt.

Scouting the Coyotes
USD (7-4-2, 2-1) picked up a pair of league wins last weekend over Oral Roberts (3-1) and Western Illinois (2-1) after dropping a 2-0 contest at Denver in its first league game.

South Dakota enters the week with a 24-16 advantage in goals against opponents this year, but is trailing opponents in shots per game, 13.8 to 9.8.

Taryn LaBree, who picked up Summit League Offensive Player of the Week honors last Monday, leads the Coyotes with 13 points (five goals, three assists). Kellee Willer (three goals, five assists) is second in team scoring (11) and Tiannah Moore has four goals and a pair of assists.

Parker Rytz (12 starts) has played a majority of minutes for USD between the pipes, posting a 1.29 goals against average (16 goals allowed) with 56 saves.

South Dakota State is 6-5 all-time against South Dakota, claiming a 2-0 win at home last season. The Jackrabbits are 6-1 against the 'Yotes in Division I play.

Scouting the Bison
NDSU (6-5, 3-1) split a pair of games last weekend, falling 3-2 in overtime to Denver before rebounding with a 2-1 victory at North Dakota last Sunday. The Bison started conference play with 1-0 and 5-1 victories at Western Illinois and Purdue Fort Wayne, respectively.

North Dakota State enters the week with a 19-17 advantage in goals against opponents this year, but is trailing opponents in shots per game, 14.4 to 13.9.

Mariah Haberle (12 points) leads the team with five goals and two assists on offense, while Holly Enderle is close behind with five points (four goals, two assists). Hannah Norman has four goals on the year and Roxy Roemer has netted seven assists.

In goal, Monica Polgar has played all available minutes for the Bison and holds a 1.50 goals against average, allowing 17 goals with 51 saves and a shutout.

South Dakota State is 11-10-3 all-time against North Dakota State, claiming a 4-0 victory at home during the 2017 regular season, but the Bison topped SDSU in last year's Summit League semifinals, 2-0, to snap a three-match Jackrabbit winning streak in the series.

Scouting the Jackrabbits
SDSU (8-4-1, 3-0) carries a five-game unbeaten streak into tonight's matchup while winning three straight games to open Summit League play. The Jackrabbits took down Denver, 1-0, in a double-overtime bout last Sunday behind a 110th minute goal from Leah Manuleleua.

SDSU has outscored its opponents 20-9 on the year and has eight shutouts as a team. The Jackrabbits are averaging 15.1 shots per game, putting 78 of their 196 total attempts on goal.

Karlee Manding leads the Jackrabbits with 12 points on the year, netting five goals with two assists, including the game-winning setup against DU on Sunday. Leah Manuleleua is close behind with 10 points, tallying four scores and a pair of assists. Marisa Schulz, Abigail Kastens and Stephanie Dashiell have each found the back of the net twice in 2018.

Carina McLennan (six points) leads all Jacks with four assists, while seven others have one assist each. In total, 13 Jackrabbits have recorded a point this season.

Defensively, Evans, Annie Williams, Alexa Hepner and Kaitlin Zabel have started all 10 games for a Jackrabbit back line that has allowed just nine goals this season. Hepner leads the team with 1,024 minutes played, just ahead of Zabel's 1,000 and Williams' 986 minutes.

Maggie Smither has started every game at goalkeeper for SDSU and holds a 0.69 goals against average. The defending Summit League Defensive Player of the Week has allowed nine goals in 1,174 minutes of action, recording seven shutouts while assisting in one more.

Jackrabbits Honored by Summit League
South Dakota State has earned three Summit League Player of the Week honors this season.

Leah Manuleleua was named the Summit League's Offensive Player of the Week Aug. 27. It was the third time in her career she's earned the league's weekly honor. She helped the Jacks to a perfect 2-0 record at home last weekend, thanks in part to a seven-point showing against Wayne State Friday that included the ninth hat trick in the program's history. Manuleleua became the first to score three or more goals in a game for SDSU since Diana Potterveld did it in 2012.
Maggie Smither was named the Summit League's Defensive Player of the Week Sept. 17. Smither started all three games at goalkeeper for the Jackrabbits last week and posted a 1-1-1 record with a pair of shutouts. She tallied 21 saves overall and finished the week with an 0.62 goals against average while facing 50 total shots.
Smither picked up her second weekly award Oct. 8. Smither started and played all available minutes in a 1-0 shutout victory over Denver, recording six saves in a hotly contested slugfest that went to double overtime.

Jackrabbit Quick Hits

Kyli Nelson appeared in her 76th career game last Sunday and is now tied for ninth in career appearances at South Dakota State.. The school record of 80 is held by four Jackrabbits, last tied by 2017-18 graduate Jennie Scislow.
With a 5-4-1 mark, the Jackrabbits secured a .500 or better mark in nonleague play for the seventh time since joining The Summit League in 2007.
South Dakota State is 20-16-43 all-time in overtime matches.
13 Jackrabbits have recorded a point this season, already matching last year's total.
SDSU is 5-12-2 all-time in season openers and 7-10-2 all-time in home openers.
South Dakota State has won six consecutive Summit League openers after its 2-1 win over Purdue Fort Wayne and is 11-1 all-time in those contests.
The Jackrabbits played a trio of Power Five schools this season in Iowa State, Kansas and Arizona State. All-time against schools from the Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10, SEC and ACC, the Jacks are a combined 4-26-5. Three of those wins and two ties have come against Iowa State.

Home Cooking
Brookings has been good to the Jackrabbits, as South Dakota State boasts a 99-41-18 all-time home record.

Since moving to The Summit League in 2007, the Jackrabbits are 73-22-11 at home. And although the program saw an 11-match home unbeaten streak come to an end in the nonconference season, the Jackrabbits are now 12-2-1 at Fishback Soccer Park under head coach Brock Thompson.

Specific to Summit League play, the Jackrabbits are 41-3-2 all-time in home league games and have lost only one home Summit League game since 2010.

Jacks Tabbed Second in Preseason Poll
South Dakota State women's soccer was picked second in the 2018 Summit League Preseason Coaches Poll, released Aug. 13. The Jackrabbits received 57 total points in the rankings with three first-place votes, finishing four tallies shy of Denver for the top spot. Oral Roberts was picked third in the poll with 49 points, just ahead of North Dakota State's 46. The next three spots were separated by just three points, with newcomer North Dakota sitting fifth (30), South Dakota sixth (29) and Omaha seventh (28). Purdue Fort Wayne and Western Illinois tied for the final spot with 12 points each.

Four Named as Players to Watch
As part of the Summit League's preseason poll release, four Jackrabbits were named to the league's Players to Watch List: Maggie Smither, Annie Williams, Leah Manuleleua and Alexa Hepner.

Maggie Smither, last season's Summit League Goalkeeper of the Year, posted a 0.86 goals against average in 2017 and tallied 83 saves. She allowed only one goal in league play and recorded six shutouts, finishing the year with an 11-5-3 record between the pipes.
Annie Williams is the returning Summit League Defensive Player of the Year and will serve as team captain for the Jackrabbits in 2018. She started all 19 games a year ago, played 1,556 minutes and was third on the team with eight points.
Alexa Hepner is a third-year starter for a back line that surrendered just one goal in league play last year. The Prior Lake, Minnesota native logged the most minutes (1,721) for the second-consecutive season. She was a 2017 All-Summit Second Team honoree.
Leah Manuleleua enters her second season with the Jackrabbits after arriving in 2017 from San Joaquin Delta College. Manuleleua started 18 contests last season and tied for the team lead in goals (seven). She was an All-Summit League First Team pick last year.

2017 In Review
The Jackrabbits made their fifth consecutive appearance in the league tournament and have qualified nine times out of 10 eligible seasons in the league. South Dakota State has now won five regular season titles, claiming the regular season nod in 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2014 as well.

Nicole Hatcher (21 points, seven assists) and Leah Manuleleua (17 points, three assists) tied for the team-lead with seven goals each, while Annie Williams finished third on the team in points (eight) with three goals and two assists. Freshmen Rachel Hewitt and Marisa Schulz each netted two goals.

Between the pipes, Maggie Smither started 18 games with appearances in all 19 contests on the year, posting a 0.86 goals against average while ending the regular season with six consecutive shutouts. Smither logged 83 saves in 1,582 minutes. Taylor Lock appeared in five contests and spent 99 minutes in goal, giving up one score with five saves.

-GoJacks.com-