Soccer wins conference opener

Saturday, October 1

Fort Wayne, Ind.

Noon

South Dakota State University

6-4-1, 1-0-0Summit

Fort Wayne

3-9-0, 0-1-0Summit

Team	1	2	Final F
South Dakota State	1	0	1
Fort Wayne	0	0	0

Photo by: Mark Smither

10/1/2016 5:24:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

FORT WAYNE, Indiana -- South Dakota State women's soccer recorded a season-high 21 shots and allowed a defensive-best three Fort Wayne shots in a 1-0 win to open conference play on Saturday, Oct. 1.

The Jackrabbits (6-4-1, 1-0-0 Summit League) won their fourth straight game in shutout fashion, outlasting the Mastodons (3-9, 0-1 Summit League) over a four hour and 37 minute contest, which goes down as the longest game in school history.

"I was very proud of the team for dealing with the adversity of the lightning delay to still get the win," head coach Lang Wedemeyer said. "It was a good start to conference play for us, but there is much work yet to be done."

Nicole Hatcher notched her team-leading sixth assist of the season early in the first half for her 10th point in 2016 while Kyli Nelson scored SDSU's lone goal (and game-winner). Defensively, SDSU's back row of Ashley Adams, Lindsee Larson, Alexa Hepner and McKenzie Wolf played all 90 minutes as the defense shined throughout the afternoon.

Nicole Inskeep (3-4) earned the start in net and played the first half to earn the win, recording one save before Maggie Smither closed the contest. Smither had one save as well as she played the entire second half.

Scoreless through the opening 16 minutes of play (though SDSU had three early shot attempts), the Jackrabbits broke through at 16:58 as Nelson scored her second goal of the season. Off a pass from Hatcher on the right side of the field, Nelson took the ball mid-box and beat the keeper.

That was SDSU's lone goal in the opening frame, though the Jacks took a 10-1 shot advantage into the locker room as the defensive unit performed to near-perfection.

Out of the break, the Jacks picked up right where they left off with their fifth shot on goal in the 48th minute before mother nature slowed the SDSU offense with a lightning delay that totaled two hours and 35 minutes.

Back on the field, South Dakota State did not score again, but continued to fire shots at a rapid pace and finished the game with a 18-plus shot margin against the Mastodons.

Game Notes

South Dakota State's 21 shots was the most since last season's contest against Fort Wayne on Oct. 25, 2015 when the team fired 29 shots at Fishback Soccer Park.
With the first (and only goal) on the day, SDSU is now 6-0 in games it scores first this season.
Nicole Hatcher is now tied for second in the Summit League with six assists on the year.
SDSU is now 9-1 in Summit League openers, with its lone defeat coming in 2012.
The Jackrabbits' four-game winning streak is the longest since winning six straight during the 2013 season.

Up Next
South Dakota State returns to Brookings, S.D., next weekend for a two-game home stand against Western Illinois and Oral Roberts on Friday, Oct. 7 and Sunday, Oct. 9, respectively.