South Dakota State will make a second consecutive appearance in a conference title match as the Jackrabbits gear up to face Oral Roberts in the 2024 Summit League Championship. The Jackrabbits and Golden Eagles are slated for a 1 p.m. first kick at North Dakota State's Dacotah Field in Fargo.Â
SDSU extended its season with a 2-1 victory on Thursday over Denver in the tournament semifinals. The Jackrabbits flipped the script from exactly two weeks prior, when the Pioneers defeated SDSU at Fishback Soccer Park by a 2-1 score, thanks to steady play across the pitch. A
Hailee Christensen drawn foul in the box in the 29th minute set up
Kaycee Manding with a penalty kick which she converted to put SDSU into the lead.
Avery LeBlanc scored the eventual game-winning goal in the 61st minute. The SDSU back line of Manding,
Hayley Lindaman and
Lauren Eckerle held the Pioneer attack to just two shots on goal. Denver was able to tally a goal of its own, but took until the 89th minute. Â
The Jackrabbits will be playing in their ninth Summit League tournament title match. SDSU is 4-1-3 all-time in the Summit League championship, with all three ties being won by penalty kick. SDSU won its first ever conference title, a United Soccer Conference Tournament crown, in 2006. The Jackrabbits have claimed Summit tournament titles in 2008, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2021 and 2023. SDSU lost in The Summit League final in 2009.
SDSU is 13-6-6 all-time in The Summit League tournament. The Jackrabbits have qualified for every Summit League Championship tournament but one (2012) since the 2008 season.Â
The Jackrabbits and Golden Eagles met exactly two weeks ago from this Sunday in Brookings. SDSU got a first-half goal from
Katelyn Beulke and fended off ORU pressure for the remainder of the match in a 1-0 Senior Day victory on Oct. 27.Â
SDSU has previously faced off with Oral Roberts four times in the conference tournament. The Jacks are 3-0-1 against the Golden Eagles. The two sides competed against one another in last season's semifinals, a 5-2 victory for the Jackrabbits. SDSU also owns semifinal wins over ORU in 2015 and 2019. The foes squared off in the 2016 championship. They tied with a scoeless margin, however SDSU won the title behind a 3-2 score in penalty kicks. The Jackrabbits are 17-1-3 all-time against the Golden Eagles and haven't lost to ORU since 2015.
Â
SDSU has won at least 12 matches in each of the last seven campaigns, while the season prior the program recorded 11 in
Brock Thompson's first season as head coach.
The Jackrabbits are 7-4 in one-goal games this year with all four losses on the season coming by a single goal margin. SDSU is 11-0 this season when scoring two-plus goals and 12-1-1 when getting on the board first.
COVERAGE INFORMATION
The entire 2024 Summit League Women's Soccer Championship will be streamed on The Summit League Network Powered by Midco Sports. Live stats for Sunday''s match are available on GoJacksLive.com while all game day links are available on the Jackrabbit soccer team's schedule page.
-GoJacks.com-