Soccer welcomes Leathernecks, Mastodons to town

Friday, October 18

Brookings, S.D.

6 p.m.

South Dakota State University

Western Illinois

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BROOKINGS, SD - SEPTEMBER 28: xxxxxxx (Photo by Dave Eggen/Inertia)

Photo by: Inertia Sports Media/Dave Eggen

10/16/2019 3:50:00 PM | Women's Soccer

GAMES 15-16: South Dakota State (11-3, 3-0) vs. Western Illinois (6-7-1, 2-2); Purdue Fort Wayne (4-7-2, 0-3)

When	Friday, Oct. 18 \| 6 p.m.	Sunday, Oct. 20 \| noon
Where	Fishback Soccer Park \| Brookings, S.D.	Fishback Soccer Park \| Brookings, S.D.
Live Video	Jackrabbit All-Access	Jackrabbit All-Access
Live Stats	GoJacksLive.com	GoJacksLive.com
Game Notes	South Dakota State
Social Media	Twitter \| Facebook \| #RabbitsFutbol

South Dakota State returns to Fishback Soccer Park this weekend for a two-game homestand, welcoming Western Illinois and Purdue Fort Wayne to Brookings. The Jackrabbits and Fighting Leathernecks face off Friday at 6 p.m. Sunday's contest with Purdue Fort Wayne starts at noon, with the Jackrabbits celebrating Senior Day prior to kick.

SDSU (11-3, 3-0 Summit League) sits first in the league standings with nine points, opening league play with wins over North Dakota, Oral Roberts and Omaha thus far.

State's defensive unit has been a key component to the Jackrabbits' success, as SDSU has posted 11 shutouts (including nine straight) while limiting opponents to five shots on goal per game.

Defending Summit League Defensive Player of the Week Maggie Smither has been a rock between the pipes this season, logging a nation-leading 10 shutouts and 63 saves over 1,144 minutes. Smither holds a league-leading 0.31 goals against average, sitting eighth nationally in that category. Taylor Lock earned her first career start at Northern Illinois and recorded a shutout, facing only one shot in the victory.

Leah Manuleleua is second among Summit League goal scorers through two weeks of league action, finding the net eight times through 14 games with five game-winners. She also has two assists and leads the team with 50 shots (23 on goal).

Maya Hansen has found her groove in the past three weeks, scoring in five of the last six contests to sit second on the team with 12 points (five goals, two assists). Sunniva Dunagan and Karlee Manding each have two goals and two assists on the offensive end. Carina McLennan has two goals and Marisa Schulz paces the squad with a trio of assists.

McLennan and Darien Poelstra have started all 14 games in the midfield for State, while the Jackrabbits' back line of Kate Zabel (46 consecutive starts), Rachel Preston (1,229 minutes) and Gabby Vivier-Hannay (13 complete-game performances) have provided lockdown defense.

Zabel's 1,241 minutes is a team-high, and with 4,277 total minutes for her career, the Lakeville, Minnesota native is on pace to join the top 10 in minutes played later this season. Preston is close behind for the year at 1,229 minutes, while Vivier-Hannay has played all minutes available to her (1,170) after missing the Minnesota contest.

A Look Across the Pitch
Western Illinois (6-7-1, 2-2 Summit League) sits third in league play with six points, but has dropped two straight contests to Denver and North Dakota. The Leathernecks have 12 goals ont he year, led by Amy Andrews' five (10 points). Jenna Lundren and Zoe Clarke each have an assist and two goals for WIU.

Ines Palmeiro Herrera boasts a 1.20 goals against average with 66 saves over 1,273 minutes at goalkeeper, allowing 17 goals.

South Dakota State is 12-1-1 all-time against Western Illinois and is unbeaten in the last 12 matchups. The Jacks are 5-0-1 at home against the Leathernecks.

Purdue Fort Wayne (4-7-2, 0-3) visited North Dakota State Friday night and entered the weekend with six-game losing streak. The Mastodons are led offensively by Hannah Kroger (two goals, one assist), Morgan Reitano (two goals, one assist) and Eliese LaCourt (two goals).

Lorah Pund has stated all 13 games at goalkeeper with a 1.27 goals against average, tallying 64 saves.

South Dakota State is 9-2-1 all-time against Purdue Fort Wayne and is unbeaten in the last seven matchups. The Jacks are 6-1 at home against the Mastodons.

Last Time Out
OMAHA, Neb. -- A pair of first-half scores carried South Dakota State to its ninth-straight victory Sunday afternoon, as the Jackrabbit soccer team took down Omaha 2-0 at Caniglia Field.

SDSU (11-3, 3-0 Summit League) saw Maya Hansen and Eden Brooker score in the opening 30 minutes of action, then rode its defense the rest of the way for the team's 11th shutout of the season.

Karlee Manding added an assist for the second-straight game, and the Jacks fired nine shots on the day

Maggie Smither earned her 10th win between the pipes, tallying three saves.

Hansen gave the Jacks a 1-0 lead in the 17th minute, set up by Manding. After a Maverick turnover near midfield sent the ball into SDSU's possession, the Waipahu, Hawaii native made a deep run into Omaha territory, sent a thru ball to the left side of the box for Hansen, and the freshman forward send the ball into the far corner of the net.

State extended its lead moments later on Brooker's first collegiate goal. Brooker stepped in front of a Maverick pass near the upper left corner of the box and launched a ball past the diving keeper at 29:35.

Those early goals proved to be enough in the victory, as the Jackrabbit midfield and defensive units continued their strong play and held an opponent to single-digit shots for the sixth time this year.

Quick Hitters

Oct. 13's victory over Omaha was Brock Thompson's 100th career victory along the sidelines. He is in his ninth season as a head coach.
South Dakota State's 3-0 victory over Northern Illinois Sept. 22 capped an impressive road trip, but was also a record-tying performance for the defensive unit. The Jackrabbits surrendered only one shot from the Huskies in the contest, matching a feat that has now happened three times in program history. The last occurrence was in 2010 against UMKC.
After scoring just six goals through their first eight games, the Jackrabbits have broke out on the offensive end of the field with 15 goals in their last six.
SDSU has won won seven consecutive Summit League openers and is 12-1 all-time in those contests.
The Jackrabbits are 6-12-2 all-time in season openers and 8-10-2 in home openers.
Summit League squads combined to post a 42-41-9 record leading up to conference play. That win total is the first time the Summit League has won 40 or more non-conference matches since the 2007-08 season when teams combined to go 41-46-6.
The Jackrabbits' nine-game shutout streak is the longest in program history, breaking the previous mark of eight set in 2008 and 2011. All told, South Dakota State has not allowed a goal since the 61st minute of a 1-0 loss at Drake on Sept. 6, or over the last 839:45 minutes.
The Jacks have won nine straight games. SDSU has put together winning streaks of four or more in six of its last eight seasons, including a nine-match streak in 2017. The school record for consecutive wins is 10, set in 2008.

Jacks Honored by Summit League
The Jackrabbit soccer team has picked up three weekly honors from the Summit League this season.

Leah Manuleleua (Offensive; Sept. 16) Manuleleua netted game-winners in all three victories, playing 178 minutes for the Jackrabbits in the attacking third. Manuleleua had nine shots (three per game) with seven on goal for the week, growing her team-leading points total to 10 (five goals). The Manteca, California native is now tied for ninth in career goals (17) and second in career game-winning goals (nine). This is her fourth-career Summit League weekly award.
Maggie Smither (Defensive; Sept. 16) Smither continued her strong play between the pipes and posted three shutouts. Playing all 270 available minutes, Smither had 20 total saves for the week, including a 10-save showing against Eastern Washington (her second-career double-digit saves performance). The Sioux Falls native closed the week with seven saves in a 1-0 Jackrabbit win against Minnesota to break the school's shutout record.
Rachel Preston (Defensive; Sept. 23) Preston played all 180 minutes in a pair of shutout victories for the Jacks, topping Northern Iowa, 2-0, and Northern Illinois, 3-0, on the road. SDSU has now won five straight contests with seven shutouts on the year. The Lakeville, Minnesota native anchored State's defensive unit over the two games, limiting the Panthers to three shots on goal Friday before a record-setting performance against the Huskies on Sunday. The Jacks limited NIU to just one shot throughout the contest, matching a program-best feat that had occurred just two times, prior. The last time came in 2010 against UMKC. This is the first weekly award for Preston in her Jackrabbit career.
Maggie Smither (Defensive; Oct. 14) Smither posted a pair of shutout victories between the pipes as the Jackrabbits topped Oral Roberts (1-0) and Omaha (2-0) in league play. The Sioux Falls native recorded six saves in the win over the Golden Eagles and finished the weekend with nine total saves. This was Smither's second weekly defensive honor of the season. She is a six-time Summit League weekly award honoree for her career.

A Pattern of Success
South Dakota State's defensive prowess, senior leadership and nonleague success since joining the Summit League has produced a trend of conference play (and overall season) success. In total, the Jackrabbits' 70 league wins (and .789 league winning percentage) is the top mark among Summit League teams, dating back to 2008.

On the Defensive. Last year's squad allowed just 14 goals for the season, posting the third-best goals against average (0.71) in school history. That played into a two-year GAA of 0.78 (2017-18), the second-best mark at SDSU. The Jackrabbits have put together back-to-back seasons of 1.00 or fewer goals allowed per 90 minutes (game) three times, including the last three seasons (2016-17, 2017-18). Maggie Smither and Kaitlin Zabel bring the most experience to the 2019 defensive unit and will look to continue that trend. So far this year, the Jackrabbit defense has produced 11 clean sheets and allowed four goals (0.29 GAA).
Four-Year Senior Records. South Dakota State's senior class boasts a 44-21-8 record over the last three-plus years, including a 21-4-0 mark in Summit League play with a tournament championship, two regular season titles and a trip to the NCAA Tournament. If SDSU reaches double-digit wins for the seventh-year in a row, that senior class will finish no lower than tied for fourth in the SDSU record books for most class wins. Last year's group finished with 45 victories, the third-most in school history. 49 wins is the best four-year mark (2008-11).
Nonleague Success. Including 2019, the Jackrabbits have posted a plus-.500 record in league play eight times since joining the Summit League and in four of the last five years. SDSU won a program-best eight regular season, nonleague games this year, going 8-3 in the first half of the campaign.

Home Cooking
Brookings has been good to the Jackrabbits, as South Dakota State boasts a 109-42-18 all-time home record, including tournament games at Fishback Soccer Park. Head Coach Brock Thompson, now in his third season, has a 21-3-1 mark at Fishback Soccer Park

SDSU is 45-3-2 against Summit League opponents and has lost just one home league contest since 2010.

Smither nets WPSL honors
South Dakota State's Maggie Smither was announced as the Women's Professional Soccer League's 2019 Central Region Northern Conference Defensive Player of the Year. She also earned the region's Golden Glove award for top keeper.

Smither spent the summer with Mankato United Soccer Club, helping the team to a 6-1-3 record in its inaugural season. She logged time in 10 contests, allowing just four goals with 13 saves, posting a 1.00 goals against average for the squad.

The two-time Summit League Goalkeeper of the Year was one of 10 Jackrabbits to compete in the WPSL this summer, joining Marisa Schulz, MaKayla Griffin, Rachel Preston, Taylor Lock, Eden Brooker, Adalaide Kline, Cecilia Limongi, Shayna Stubbs and Sunniva Dunagan.

SDSU Celebrating 20th Season of Women's Soccer
The Jackrabbit soccer program is celebrating its 20th season as an NCAA sport at South Dakota State University. The previous 19 seasons has seen the program win nearly 200 games, claim 11 conference championships (four Summit League tournament titles, six Summit League regular season trophies and one United Soccer Conference tournament crown), and make four trips to the NCAA Tournament.

In looking back at the past 20 years and celebrating the success of Jackrabbit soccer, fans voted for the all-time Top XI. That team was revealed in four parts during Hobo Week on GoJacks.com and recognized during the Oct. 6 game.

Jacks Tabbed Second in Preseason Poll
The Jackrabbit women's soccer program was tabbed second in the 2019 Summit League Preseason Coaches Poll, released early August. South Dakota State garnered 57 points in the rankings with a pair of first-place votes, just behind top vote-getter Denver (63 points, five first-place votes). Those two were widely separated from the rest of the pack, as North Dakota State (41), Omaha (39) and South Dakota (37) rounded out the top five. The final four spots were held by North Dakota (32), Oral Roberts (31), Purdue Fort Wayne (14) and Western Illinois (10).

Smither, Manuleleua Named Players to Watch
SDSU's Maggie Smither and Leah Manuleleua were recognized as Players to Watch by the Summit League as part of their preseason release. Smither is the two-time defending Summit League Goalkeeper of the Year, while Manuleleua returns for her senior season after leading the Jacks in points (14) last year.

Jackrabbits Host GOALD Game
South Dakota State women's soccer and Sanford Children's Cure Kids Cancer! teamed up this season to host the first-ever GOALD Game, Saturday, Sept. 28 at Fishback Soccer Park. The organizations partnered to raise awareness and support during National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.

Jackrabbit soccer sold GOALD Game t-shirts for $10 at the field, with proceeds benefiting Sanford Children's Cure Kids Cancer!, and raised funds online for a "Pie in the Face" contest. SDSU raised a total of $3,984.99 for Cure Kid's Cancer! and nearly doubled its fundraising goal of $2,000.

-GoJacks.com-