South Dakota State heads on to the road first for a pivotal week stretch in Summit League play. The regular season soccer schedule comes to a close with multiple teams still in the thick of competition for Summit League tournament positioning.
The Jackrabbits face North Dakota in Grand Forks at 3 p.m. on Thursday. SDSU has already qualified for The Summit League Championship tournament, but can finish in multiple slots in Pod A of The Summit League standings. The Jacks are currently first in the pod with 14 points (4-2-2 record). SDSU sits ahead of South Dakota with 12 points (3-2-3) and North Dakota State with 11 points (3-3-2). The top finisher in the pod earns an automatic berth to the semifinals and trip to Tulsa, the championship host site.
The Jackrabbits are 9-4-3 overall this season. SDSU is coming off of a 3-2 victory over South Dakota. SDSU jumped ahead of the Coyotes 2-0 in the first half, then held off USD to earn an Interstate Series win, presented by First Interstate Bank. The victory was the Jacks' first over the Yotes in regulation at Fishback Soccer Park since 2017.
SDSU has scored 134 points as a program this season behind 40 goals and 54 assists. The assist total is the most in a single season in program history topping 51 set last year. The team's poinst total is third in a single season trailing 160 points recorded by the 2001 squad and 151 set in by the 2021 team. SDSU's points leaders include
Mia Bosch (16),
Jenna Maloy (14) and
Katelyn Beulke (12).
South Dakota State and North Dakota meet for a second time this season on Thursday. The first meeting on Sept. 27 saw the Jackrabbits claim a 2-1 win over the Fighting Hawks. UND held a 1-0 lead after a 14th minute goal by Hunter Borgel. SDSU equalized in the 56th minute on a goal via
MaKynlie Cade.
Mia Bosch converted a penalty kick in the 82nd minute to propel SDSU to the victory. The Jacks are unbeaten against the Fighting Hawks in 15 consecutive meetings.
North Dakota enters Thursday's match 5-8-2 overall and 2-5-1 in Summit League action. The Hawks have seven points in conference play after dropping two straight matches to Oral Roberts (1-0) and NDSU (3-0). They close the regular season Sunday at USD.
COVERAGE NFORMATION
All of South Dakota State's home matches this season, along with in-conference contests, will be streamed on The Summit League Network Powered by Midco Sports. All game day links are available on the Jackrabbit soccer team's schedule page at GoJacks.com.
-GoJacks.com-