Soccer hosts NDSU, travels to USD this weekend

GAMES 17-18: South Dakota State (13-3, 5-0) vs. NDSU (7-5-3, 2-1-2); at USD (6-9, 1-3)

When	Thursday, Oct. 24 \| 6 p.m.	Sunday, Oct. 27 \| 1 p.m.
Where	Fishback Soccer Park \| Brookings, S.D.	First Bank & Trust Soccer Complex \| Vermillion, S.D.
Live Video	Jackrabbit All-Access	Coyotes All-Access
Live Stats	GoJacksLive.com	GoYotes.com
Game Notes	South Dakota State
Social Media	Twitter \| Facebook \| #RabbitsFutbol

Jackrabbit soccer wraps up its regular season home slate Thursday as part of a split weekend, as South Dakota State welcomes North Dakota State to town before traveling to in-state rival South Dakota Sunday afternoon. SDSU and NDSU kick at 6 p.m. from Fishback Soccer Park, while Sunday's game with USD is set for 1 p.m.

SDSU (13-3, 5-0 Summit League) sits first in the league standings with 15 points and has three games remaining in the regular season.

The Jackrabbit defense has been a key component to this year's success, as he team has posted 13 shutouts (including 11 straight) while limiting opponents to 5.15 shots on goal per game.

The Jacks' back line of Kaitlin Zabel (48 consecutive starts), Rachel Preston (1,402 minutes) and Gabby Vivier-Hannay (15 complete-game performances) have provided lockdown defense this season, while the SDSU has seen Carina McLennan and Darien Poelstra start every game in the midfield.

Zabel's 1,421 minutes is a team-high, and with 4,367 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 1,402 minutes, while Vivier-Hannay has played all minutes available to her (1,350) after missing the Minnesota contest.

Two-time defending Summit League Defensive Player of the Week Maggie Smither has been a rock between the pipes this season, logging a nation-leading 12 shutouts with 75 saves over 1,324 minutes. Smither holds a league-leading 0.27 goals against average, sitting first nationally in that category as well. 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 three weeks of league action, finding the net nine times through 16 games with six game-winners. She also has three assists and leads the team with 58 shots (25 on goal).

Maya Hansen has found her groove in the past month, scoring in six of the last seven contests to sit second on the team with 14 points (six goals, two assists). Karlee Manding's three goals (alongside two assists) puts her third on the team with eight points, while Sunniva Dunagan and McLennan both have two scores. Marisa Schulz's three assists tied with Manuleleua for the team-high, while Hansen, Manding, McLennan, Dunagan, Kastens and Vivier-Hannay all have a pair of assists.

A win this weekend would secure a berth to the 2019 Summit League Championships in Brookings, as the Jackrabbits continue to chase their third-consecutive regular season title (and the No. 1 seed).

A Look Across the Pitch
North Dakota State (7-5-3, 2-1-2) took down Western Illinois last Sunday, 2-1, after a scoreless draw against Purdue Fort Wayne the Friday prior. The Bison sit fourth in league standings with two weekends of play remaining, and have found the goal 12 times this season as a team. Elyse Huber leads the Summit League in goals scored (10), and paces the Bison with 22 total points (two assists). Mariah Haberle (three goals, one assist) and Brookelyn Dew (two goals, two assists) round out the top scorers for NDSU.

Defensively, NDSU has seen opponents score 16 times over 15 games and is allowing 15.3 shots per contest. Monica Polgar has logged all 1,410 minutes in net for the Bison, posting a 1.02 goals against average with 91 saves.

SDSU is 11-11-3 all-time against NDSU, with the Bison claiming the last two matchups in the series. The Jackrabbits are 7-2-3 at home against the Bison and have won the last two in Brookings.

South Dakota (6-9, 1-3) hosts Omaha Thursday night before the Jackrabbits come to town. USD enters the week eight in league standings, falling 1-0 to Denver last time out.

Alexis Mitchell (four goals, four assists) leads a Coyote offense that has scored 17 goals this season, averaging 12.5 shots per contest. Kellee Willer (three goals, two assist), Jordan Centineo (three goals) and Tiannah Moore (two goals, two assists) round out the top offensive threats for USD.

The Coyotes have allowed 16 goals this year, as Bella Alessio (eight appearances) and Emma Harkleroad (nine appearances) have split time in goal. Alessio has a 0.74 goals against average over 612 minutes, while Harkleroad's 1.62 GAA has come alongside a team-high 52 saves in 778 minutes.

The Jackrabbits are 7-5 all-time against USD, but hold a 7-1 record in Division I matchups.

Last Time Out
South Dakota State women's soccer rolled to a 3-0 victory over Purdue Fort Wayne on Sunday, notching its 11th consecutive win while celebrating Senior Day at Fishback Soccer Park.

SDSU (13-3, 5-0 Summit League) recognized Maggie Smither, Shayna Stubbs, Darien Poelstra, Carina McLennan and Leah Manuleleua before the game.

Maya Hansen, Abigail Kastens and Karlee Manding scored for the Jacks, while Manuleleua and McLennan recorded assists.

The Jackrabbits fired a season-high 27 shots in the victory, putting 13 on goal, while the Mastodons (4-8-3, 0-4-1) had 12 shots with six on target.

Maggie Smither notched career shutout No. 31 with a six-save performance, playing behind a defensive line of Gabby Vivier-Hannay, Rachel Preston and Kaitlin Zabel for a majority of the contest.

Hansen opened the scoring with her sixth goal of the year at 24:30. After gathering the ball in the attacking third, Hansen moved past her defender and broke away into the box, sending a shot towards the far post for the game's first goal.

With halftime looming, State stretched its lead to 2-0 in the 42nd minute off the foot of Kastens, as the sophomore forward took a thru ball from McLennan into the box and past a diving Mastodon keeper.

That score held until the final 15 minutes of action, when Manding put the Jacks ahead 3-0 off an assist from Manuleleua, who sent a low cross into the box for one-touch goal.

Jackrabbits among National Leaders

Leah Manuleleua's six game-winning goals this season puts her first nationally in the latest NCAA stats release. Additionally, Manuleleua ranks in the top 75 in goals per game (0.69) and is currently second in the Summit League in scores (nine).
Maggie Smither's marks of shutouts (12), and save percentage (.949) are No. 1 in the nation as of Oct. 21, and her 0.28 goals against average is third. Smither already set the league's season-shutout record (12) and is a three-time Summit League Defensive Player of the Week this year.

Quick Hitters

The Jackrabbits' 11-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 1,019:45 minutes.
The Jacks have won 11 straight games, the longest streak in school history. SDSU has won four or more games in a row in six of its last eight seasons. The previous school record for consecutive wins was 10, set in 2008.
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.
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.
SDSU has 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.

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.
Leah Manuleleua (Offensive; Oct. 21) Manuleleua recorded her 11th career game-winning goal last week, helping the Jackrabbits to a 1-0 victory over Western Illinois. The Manteca, California native followed with an assist in SDSU's 3-0 victory over Purdue Fort Wayne, raising her season points total to 21. Manuleleua ranks second in the league with nine scores this season, and is a five-time Summit League weekly award winner.
Maggie Smither (Defensive; Oct. 21) Smither continued her stellar play between the posts over the weekend, pushing her shutout streak to 11 games with a 12-save performance over the two wins. The Sioux Falls goalkeeper broke the school's career saves record over the weekend. She is a seven-time Summit League Defensive Player of the Week in her career, sitting second for the most awards in league history.

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' 72 league wins 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 13 clean sheets and allowed four goals (0.25 GAA) in 16 games.
Four-Year Senior Records. South Dakota State's senior class boasts a 46-21-8 record over the last three-plus years, including a 23-4-0 mark in Summit League play with a tournament championship, two regular season titles and a trip to the NCAA Tournament. 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 111-42-18 all-time home record, including tournament games at Fishback Soccer Park. Head Coach Brock Thompson, now in his third season, has a 23-3-1 mark at Fishback Soccer Park

SDSU is 47-3-2 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 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-

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Eden Brooker

Sunniva Dunagan

MaKayla Griffin

Maya Hansen

Abigail Kastens

Adalaide Kline

Cece Limongi

Taylor Lock

Karlee Manding

Leah Manuleleua

Carina McLennan

Darien Poelstra

Rachel Preston

Marisa Schulz

Maggie Smither

Shayna Stubbs

Gabby Vivier-Hannay

Kaitlin Zabel

Upcoming Event: Women's Soccer versus North Dakota on October 2, 2025 at 7 p.m.

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