Midweek road game pits soccer against Fighting Hawks

South Dakota State women's soccer heads north to Grand Forks, N.D., this Wednesday for a midweek non-conference match at North Dakota. Kickoff for the Jackrabbits and Fighting Hawks is at 4 p.m.

Scouting the Fighting Hawks
North Dakota stands at 1-2-1 through the opening four games of the regular season, though the Fighting Hawks enter Wednesday's matchup on a two-game skid. UND dropped 3-0 match at No. 17 Minnesota and a 2-0 contest at Omaha over the weekend. UND's lone goal this season came unassisted from Karleen Yapello. The Fighting Hawks' defense has allowed five goals while two keepers have split time in net. Catherine Klein has played a majority of the minutes (372) with five goals allowed and a 1.21 goals against average, while Olivia Swenson was named the Big Sky Goalkeeper of the Week after a shutout at South Dakota. UND was tabbed 10th in the Big Sky preseason poll, though the team returned nine of its 11 starters. In the all-time series, SDSU leads 5-3-0 with the Jacks claiming the previous two matchups. The Jacks will be looking for their first win in Grand Forks, claiming all wins in the series at Fishback Soccer Park.

Last Time Out
The Jackrabbit soccer team went 1-0-1 last weekend, wrapping up action with a 1-1 draw against Kansas. The Jacks shook off a halftime deficit with a late second half goal from Madison Yueill off a free kick in the 82nd minute. Maggie Smither played the final 65 minutes to earn her first career decision in the net, picking up five saves (including two in the overtime periods). Nicole Inskeep got the start and played the opening 45 minutes. Squaring off against a fast-paced, wind-aided attack in the first half, the Jacks matched the Jayhawks through the opening 37 minutes before a breakaway goal send KU to the locker room. KU's Katie McClure used a double assist from Ashley Pankey and Hannah Lukinac on a long cross down the field, outrunning the Jacks defense to put in past a diving Inskeep at 36:12. Nearing the end of regulation, Yueill tied things up for the Jackrabbits off a free kick in the 82nd minute. After a foul on the Jayhawks near the top left corner of the box, Yueill fired a free kick that snuck past the outstretched hands of KU's Maddie Dobyns for the equalizer. The Jacks took the wind in the first overtime, firing one shot despite several chances and a near miss on a corner kick in the 97th. In the second overtime, SDSU's defense withstood three KU shots to end the game in a tie.

Set Piece Success
Madison Yueill had two goals last weekend with both coming on set piece efforts. In the 3-0 win against Northern Iowa, Yueill curved a corner kick into the net from the left side past an outstretched keeper and against Kansas, Yueill fired a free kick from the top left corner of the box into the net to help the Jacks draw 1-1 with Kansas.

Offensive Breakout
Held without a goal in the first two contests, SDSU erupted for three in a win over Northern Iowa and one against Kansas. Shelby Raper had three points (goal, assist) in the game versus Northern Iowa to lead the team in points for that game. Tori Poole and Madison Yueill scored as well while Kyli Nelson and Nicole Hatcher added assists. Yueill had her second goal of the year against Kansas.

Chart Climber
Goalkeeper Nicole Inskeep has picked up six saves through two games this year and is now tied for third overall in her career for saves, matching Jenn Davis who played for the Jacks from 2003-06, with 202 career saves. Inskeep is 65 saves away from No. 2 on the list and 67 saves back from tying the school record.

Second Half Shutdown
South Dakota State's defense has not allowed a second half goal through four games this season, and only three goals for the year overall. In addition to the overall defensive success in the second half, goalkeeper Maggie Smither has closed out the previous two games, logging 110 minutes without a goal allowed and eight saves, including five in the match with Kansas.

Eyes on the Prize
Despite going winless through the openingtwo 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 those seasons.

Exhibition Recap
The Jackrabbits played two exhibition games this preseason as part of tuneup for the 2016 campaign, traveling to face Missouri State in a neutral site contest and Northern Colorado. SDSU dropped the first contest, 2-0, before falling in the second at UNC, 1-0. Stats for the first game were not available, but in the second game 25 different Jackrabbits saw action, with Nicole Inskeep and Maggie Smither splitting time in net.

Rising Stars
As part of a core group of 20 returning letterwinners, the Jacks have several players looking to take the next leap in rising their potential. The lone returner from last year's back line, Ashley Adams is one of seven seniors on this year's squad. Adams started 20 of 21 games last season and logged 1,883 minutes (the most of any returner) on a defense that posted nine shutouts. Madison Yueill is the top returning scorer from last year's team after posting nine points with four goals and an assist. Tori Poole will look to elevate her game after a solid first two years. Poole was named the Summit League Tournament MVP as a freshman, and last season started 18 matches with one goal and two assists. Nicole Hatcher looks to remain healthy after an injury-plagued start to her career, though she tallied six points last year with two goals and two assists. Shelby Raper was dealt a season-ending ACL injury early in the 2015 campaign, but returns to the forward position looking to make an impact and return to her 2014 form when she had five goals and three assists (13 points). Nicole Inskeep returns in the net as a seasoned veteran who started every game last year.

New Guns
With nine newcomers and eight freshman, SDSU brings a youthful lineup into the season opener with expectations for one freshman to join the starting lineup. Alexa Hepner leads all position players in minutes played this season and has started all four games on the back line for the Jackrabbits. Hepner joins a talented group of freshman expected to increase team athleticism and toughness, in addition to depth.

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 Second 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.

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Players Mentioned

Ashley Adams

Nicole Hatcher

Alexa Hepner

Nicole Inskeep

Brittany Jensen

Kyli Nelson

Tori Poole

Diana Potterveld

Shelby Raper

Delaney Ratcliffe

Maggie Smither

Madison Yueill

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Completed Event: Women's Soccer versus Northern State on April 19, 2026 ,

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Completed Event: Women's Soccer versus Alumni Game on March 1, 2026 ,

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