Soccer travels to Omaha, hosts Denver this weekend

Friday, October 21

Omaha, Neb.

4 p.m.

South Dakota State University

Omaha

Photo by: Mark Smither

10/19/2016 7:51:00 AM | Women's Soccer

SDSU Game Notes

Coming of a split in its rivarly week, South Dakota State closes the road portion of its schedule this weekend before hosting the lone undefeated team in the Summit League as regular season play winds down. The Jackrabbits travel to Omaha this Friday at 7 p.m., in the final road game of the regular season before hosting Denver on Sunday at 1 p.m. Both matchups have Summit League Tournament implications, as SDSU sits first in the standings while Omaha is fourth (one point ahead of spots five through seven) and Denver is tied for second (two points behind the Jacks).

Scouting the Mavericks
Omaha sits in fourth place of the Summit League standings as of Oct. 18 and welcomes South Dakota State to campus in its lone contest of the weekend. The Mavericks sit at 4-9-3 overall and 2-2-1 in conference play, taking down Oral Roberts and Fort Wayne in Summit League action. As a team, Omaha trails in the goal count, 21-16, over its 16-match schedule thus far and 253-186 in shot count. Individually, Carlie Cook has a team-high 15 points (which is sixth in the league), posting six goals and three assists. Lydia Holtmann has four goals for the Mavs while Emily Romero leads the program with five assists. In net, Haley Shelton has played a majority of the time with 12 starts, allowing 15 goals (1.21 goals against average) and coming up with 78 saves. Omaha leads the all-time series with the Jackrabbits, 5-3-1, but since 2012 (and in all Division I game between the programs), SDSU has won three of four.

Scouting the Pioneers
Entering the weekend as two of the top three teams in the Summit League, South Dakota State and Denver square off on Sunday in a match that will have postseason implications. SDSU leads the conference standings as of Oct. 18 with DU just two points behind at 3-0-1 in conference play (and 6-7-1 overall). Last time out the Pioneers drew 0-0 with North Dakota State on the road. DU will host Oral Roberts on Thursday (Oct. 20) before coming to Brookings. As a team, Denver trails its opponents, 22-10, in goals scored and 172-129 in the shot battle, but is the lone undefeated team in conference play this year and battled Texas Tech, Arizona State, Arizona, BYU, Colorado and Hawai'i in non-conference action (among other teams). Individually, Hannah Adler paces the squad with eight points (three goals, two assists) on the year while Jessie Dancy (two goals) is the only other player with multiple scores. In the assist column, Makenzie Bothner and Angelica Pacheco each have three nods. In net, the Pioneers are similar to SDSU in splitting time between keepers as Brittany Wilson has five starts and 14 appearances (41 saves, 1.79 goals against average, 16 goals allowed) and Cassidy Rey has started nine games with 11 appearances (22 saves, 1.12 goals against average, six goals allowed). SDSU leads the all-time series, 2-1-1, with the only matchups coming over the previous three seasons. SDSU lost in 2013 at Denver but has since won two consecutive regular season matchups. The lone draw was a 1-1 tied in the 2014 Summit League Tournament and SDSU advanced with a 5-4 advantage in a shootout.

Last Time Out
Looking to rebound after a tough loss in the weekend opener, South Dakota State women's soccer responded with a shutout victory at North Dakota State on Sunday, taking down the Bison, 1-0. Tori Poole led the offense with two shots and one goal while four other Jackrabbits, Nicole Hatcher, Madison Yueill, Jennie Scislow and Annie Williams, had one shot apiece. For the seventh time this season, SDSU's defense did not allow a goal and was paced by a back row of Lindsee Larson, Ashley Adams, McKenzie Wolf and Alex Hepner, who played all 90 minutes, along with goalkeepers Maggie Smither and Nicole Inskeep to keep NDSU off the board. Yueill and Larson added assists on Poole's goal. Smither came up with two saves on the day while facing three shots, and Inskeep had one with four shots faced. Poole took advantage of a fortunate deflection to score her early goal. Off a free kick from Yueill, Larson's header came off the post into Poole's possesion and the SDSU midfielder scored her third goal in as many games at 5:22. NDSU looked for an equalizer the rest of the way, but SDSU's defense held tough and secured the shutout win.

Quick Hits

South Dakota State is 9-1-0 this season in games it scores first, setting up a recipe for success as postseason play looms. Winless in games opponents have scored first this year (0-5-1), the Jacks will look for a fast-strike offense and solid defense to carry the program towards another title-worthy season.
Tori Poole's goal at 5:22 against North Dakota State was SDSU's fifth score in the opening 10 minutes of game action this season.
Over a three game span from Oct. 1-9, SDSU outshot its opponents, 62-14, combined. For the season, the Jacks have won the shot battle in five of the last six games and eight total times this season (out of 15 games).
South Dakota State trailed at halftime against South Dakota on Oct. 14 for the first time in 10 games, dating back to August 28 when Kansas held a 1-0 lead at half. That was the only time, previously, the Jacks trailed after the opening frame this season.
SDSU's two-goal deficit from 61:13 to 63:42 (a span of only 2:29) against USD was the largest deficit the Jacks have faced this season.
SDSU's three-game shutout streak came to an end when ORU scored in the second half of the Oct. 9 game, but not before SDSU strung together over 328 minutes of scoreless play on the defensive end.
The Jackrabbits' six-game winning streak from Sept. 11 to Oct. 9 this season was the program's second longest in history and matched the six-game winning streak from Sept. 22 to Oct. 19, 2013. The longest winning streak in program history is 10, set during the 2008 season.
Nicole Hatcher recorded a point in seven straight games from Sept. 11 to Oct. 9, setting a school record for points in consecutive games. The previous record of six was set twice by Diana Potterveld during her career.
Hatcher's 18 points for the 2016 campaign is one point shy of No. 10 on SDSU's single season record list. Her eight assists for the season thus far already is tied for third on SDSU's single-season record list.
SDSU has now scored three or more goals in five games this season, the highest total in that category since 2014 when the team had six three-plus goal games. The five goals scored against ORU is the most since Sept. 22, 2013 when the Jacks defeated North Dakota, 3-0. Five goals is the most in Summit League play for SDSU since Oct. 26, 2012 in a 6-1 win at Omaha.
South Dakota State secured a winning non-conference regular season record for the fifth time since joining NCAA Division I with wins over UMKC and Drake in its last weekend out. SDSU last had a winning non-conference regular season record in 2013. The non-conference schedule included three contests with Power Five schools this season, and one against a school out of the BIG EAST. SDSU dropped a 1-0 contest at Iowa State (Big Ten) this year before drawing 1-1 against Kansas (Big 12) at home. The final Power Five contest for SDSU was a heartbreaking 1-0 loss in double overtime to Wisconsin. In addition to those three, SDSU also had a non-conference game with Creighton, out of the BIG EAST.
South Dakota State has already seen 13 separate individuals players score this year, passing its totals from the previous two seasons and approaching the program record for that mark. SDSU had 10 players find the net in 2015 and nine score in 2014. The Jacks have reached double digits for individuals scoring on nine occasions, including a program-high 14 in 2010. The Jacks had 13 individuals find the net in 2003 and have twice (2008 and 2013) seen 12 players score.
SDSU has three double overtime games this season and sports a 1-1-1 record in those games. Historically, the Jacks have played well in overtime periods, claiming a 17-15-36 mark in combined games between single and double overtimes. The Jacks are 7-9 all-time in single overtime contests and 10-6-36 in double overtime games. The most overtime games in a season for SDSU was 12 in 2003. Since moving to the Division I level, SDSU's overtime high is six, which came last season.
SDSU is now 9-1 in Summit League openers, with its lone defeat coming in 2012.

Postseason Outlook
Winners of two straight Summit League Tournaments (and subsequently earning back-to-back NCAA College Cup appearances), the South Dakota State are poised for a return to the conference tournament and are in the hunt for another NCAA Tournament with three regular seaosn games to go. SDSU sits in first place with 12 points, two ahead of North Dakota State, a team the Jacks defeated 1-0 last weekend, and Denver, which comes to Brookings this Sunday. In fourth, Omaha (Friday's contest) is three points behind NDSU and DU and just one points head of Oral Roberts, Western Illinois and South Dakota. The top four programs earn a trip to the conference tournament, held in Fargo, N.D., at Dacotah Field this season.

Hatcher Named Summit League Offensive AOW
For the fourth time this season, South Dakota State women's soccer snagged an individual athlete of the week award as Nicole Hatcher was named the The Summit League's Offensive Player of the Week, announced Monday, Oct. 10 by the conference office. Hatcher has been a catalyst for the Jackrabbits in the current six-game winning streak and continued her hot play over two games last weekend, scoring two goals while ading two assists for a team-leading six points. Hatcher has tallied a point in the past six games to match the school record for consecutive games with a point. The Sioux Falls, S.D., native scored the first goal against both Western Illinois and Oral Roberts while assisting in the second and third goals of a 5-1 win against the Golden Eagles. She was also named Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 19.

National Leaderboard
In addition to leading the Jackrabbit offense in points, goals, assists and assists per game, Nicole Hatcher ranks in the nation's top 20 for assists and APG as well. She is ninth with 8 total assists for NCAA Division I (national leader has 12) and 16th with a 0.53 assists per game average, with nation's leader sitting at a 0.75 APG mark.

Career Chart Climbers
Several Jacks are listed among the top five on career record lists at SDSU ...

Penalty Kicks Made
1	Madison Yueill	4
2	Diana Potterveld	3
	Melissa Speiser	3

Penalty Kick Attempts
1	Madison Yueill	6
2	Diana Potterveld	5

Assists
2	Kayla Braffet	18
	Kellyn Farrell	18
4	Jennifer Briggs	16
5	Nicole Hatcher	14

Saves
1	Nicole Lograsso	269
2	Birttany Frazier	267
3	Nicole Inskeep	214

Wins
1	Nicole Inskeep	30
2	Nicole Lograsso	30
3	Brittany Frazier	26
Most Shutouts
1	Nicole Lograsso	21
2	Nicole Inskeep	20.7

Goalie Games Started
1	Nicole Lograsso	51
2	Nicole Inskeep	49

Goalie Games Played
1	Nicole Inskeep	64
2	Nicole Lograsso	59

Goalie Minutes Played
1	Nicole Inskeep	5,196
2	Nicole Lograsso	5,055

Minutes Played
1	Ashley Adams	6,470
2	Katie McNeary	6,337
3	Kerstyn Farrell	6,077

Three Straight Summit League AOW's for SDSU
South Dakota State women's soccer claimed three consecutive Summit League Player of the Week honors in the first three weeks of September. Nicole Hatcher earned a share of the award on the offensive side of the ball on Sept. 19, Lindsee Larson was Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 12 and Maggie Smither earned co-Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 6.

Eyes on the Prize
Despite going winless through the opening two games, the Jackrabbits have proven over the years it's 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 six times but has finished with a losing record just once, earning a trip to the NCAA College Cup in two of the seasons that began 0-2.

Inskeep named to Watch List
Senior goalkeeper Nicole Inskeep was named to The Summit League's Watch List as part of the preseason coaches poll release. The second-team All-Summit League selection from a year ago led the league in save percentage (.833) and goals-against average (1.82) while collecting five shutouts against league members. Overall, she recorded eight shutouts and posted a 1.06 goals-against average and registered a .815 save percentage and 11-5-3 record. As a starter in 20 of 21 matches in 2015, Inskeep enters the season ranked second in wins (27), shutouts (20), minutes (4,406) and matches played (49), third in starts (41), fourth in saves (195) and saves per game (3.97) and fifth in goals-against average (1.06) in the SDSU record book.

Jacks picked 2nd in Preseason Poll
For the third consecutive year, the South Dakota State women's soccer team was picked to finish second in the 2016 season, according to a preseason poll conducted by the league's head coaches. The two-time Summit League Tournament defending champions earned two first-place votes and 56 points in the poll ... Summit League regular-season champion North Dakota State was tabbed the preseason favorite with seven first-place votes and 63 points. The complete poll can be found on page three of the game notes.

2015 Season Review
South Dakota State earned its second consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2015, falling at Minnesota, 5-0, in the opening round. SDSU won the Summit League tournament over North Dakota State to earn an NCAA berth, claiming a 3-0 victory over the rival Bison. Overall, SDSU posted a 12-6-3 record and a 5-1-2 conference mark. Individually, SDSU saw Diana Potterveld nominated for the NCAA Woman of the Year and named the Summit League Scholar Athlete of the Year in addition to earning Capital One Academic All-America, All-District First Team and Summit League All-Academic and First Team honors. Joining her on the All-Summit League First Team was Tori Poole and Delaney Ratcliffe. Nicole Inskeep was named to the Second Team and Brittany Jensen earned an All-Freshman team nod.