Soccer readies for Summit League opener

GAME 12: South Dakota State (8-3) vs. North Dakota (6-3-1)

When	Sunday, Oct. 6 \| 1 p.m.
Where	Fishback Soccer Park \| Brookings, S.D.
Live Video	Jackrabbits All-Access
Live Stats	GoJacksLive.com
Game Notes	South Dakota State
Social Media	Twitter \| Facebook \| #RabbitsFutbol

The Jackrabbit soccer team welcomes North Dakota to town Sunday afternoon for its Summit League opener. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. from Fishback Soccer Park in a matchup that coincides with a celebration of SDSU's 20th season of soccer, as alumni and the all-time Top XI will be recognized during the contest.

Fans who attended Saturday's Hobo Day football game can use their ticket to receive free admission to the soccer match.

South Dakota State (8-3) carries a six-game winning streak into the weekend, rolling off victories over Hawaii, Eastern Washington, Minnesota, Northern Iowa, Northern Illinois and New Mexico State over the past three weeks.

Leah Manuleleua is second among Summit League goal scorers at the close of nonleague competition, finding the net seven times through 11 games with four game-winners. Her 19 shots on goal and 43 total shots lead the team. She also has one assist.

Maya Hansen broke out over the past two weeks, scoring in the last three contests to sit second on the team with eight points (including two assists). Karlee Manding has two goals on the year, Sunniva Dunagan has a goal and two assists, and Marisa Schulz paces the team with a trio of assists.

Carina McLennan and Rachel Hewitt picked up their first goals of the year last weekend, as McLennan (10 shots, 703 minutes) has teamed with Schulz and Darien Poelstra (eight shots, 798 minutes) to start every game in the midfield.

Maggie Smither (53 saves, seven shutouts) has been a rock between the pipes, playing 873-plus minutes with a 0.41 goals against average. The senior broke the school's shutout record last week and now has 26 for her career. Taylor Lock earned her first career start last month at Northern Illinois and recorded a shutout, facing only one shot in the victory.

Kaitlin Zabel (43 consecutive starts) and Rachel Preston have started every game in the back line for the Jackrabbit defense, while Gabby Vivier-Hannay has started 10 times. Zabel's 971 minutes is a team-high, and with 4,187 total minutes for her career, the Lakeville, Minnesota native is on pace to join the top 10 in minutes played later this season. Rachel Preston is close behind for the year at 959 minutes, while Vivier-Hannay has played all minutes available to her (900) after missing the Minnesota contest.

A Look Across the Pitch
North Dakota (6-3-1) has dropped two straight entering the weekend and will take on South Dakota Friday before coming to Brookings.

Eiden Mimi (11 points) and Mara Yapello (10 points) lead the Fighting Hawks' offense with five and four goals, respectively, while Cassie Giddings and Baily Mcnitt have tallied three assists apiece.

Catherine Klein has started all 10 games at keeper for UND, logging 51 saves with eight goals allowed (0.7 GAA).

The Jackrabbits are 4-3-1 all-time against North Dakota, claiming a 1-0 victory in double-overtime last year to clinch the 2018 Summit League regular season crown. This is the second meeting between the squads as Summit League foes after UND joined the league in 2018.

Last Time Out
South Dakota State women's soccer turned in an offensive showcase Saturday afternoon at Fishback Soccer Park, rolling past New Mexico State 4-0 in its nonleague finale.

The Jackrabbits (8-3) pushed their winning streak to six with a shutout victory in the first-ever GOALD Game, racking up 21 shots (10 on goal) while allowing just three shots total.

Maya Hansen, McLennan, Rachel Hewitt and Leah Manuleleua scored goals for the Jacks. Shayna Stubbs, Gabby Vivier-Hannay, Abigail Kastens and Sunniva Dunagan (twice) tallied assists.

Maggie Smither, who was honored pregame for setting the school's all-time shutout record, posted another clean slate between the pipes with a pair of saves.

The Jackrabbits controlled the pace of play throughout the contest, holding possession 62 percent of the time. The Jacks had six corners and scored on one of those set pieces.

Manuleleua (six shots) and Hansen (five shots) each had three shots on goal to pace the squad in chances, while two of Darien Poelstra's attempts were on target.

"I'm proud of our team and the effort they put forth today," Thompson said. "Our forwards did a really good job of running through and being threatening without the ball. That allowed us to create some very quality goal scoring chances and it seemed to make us dangerous throughout the game."

South Dakota State jumped out to a 1-0 lead off Hansen's foot in the 10th minute of action and never looked back, as Stubbs played a thru ball into the box for Hansen and the right-footed freshman beat the keeper. It was her third score in as many games.

Later in the half, McLennan found the net for the first time this season in the 37th. Vivier-Hannay sent a ball past the Aggie defense to set up the scoring opportunity, and after Kastens gathered it on the right edge of the box, she played a low cross towards to feet of both McLennan and Manuleleua, who were waiting in the box. It was the Winnipeg, Manitoba native that connected in the cross, sending a shot into the upper left corner of the goal.

Ahead 2-0, the Jacks tacked on one more before halftime when Dunagan took possession near midfield, dribbled through a pack of Aggies and found Hewitt breaking away. Dunagan's ball found Hewitt just outside the box as she blasted a shot past the diving keeper.

Manuleleua scored SDSU's fourth and final goal of the contest early in the second half, as Dunagan's cross off a corner kick was placed perfectly for a header goal from the Manteca, California forward.

A Record-Breaking Performance
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.

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 and is now all alone in the Jackrabbit record books with 23 career shutouts. She has allowed only three goals this season, and has shutouts in all five of the Jackrabbits' wins. Smither is a five-time Summit League weekly award honoree.
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

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' 67 league wins (and .787 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 2018 defensive unit and will look to continue that trend. So far in 2019, the Jackrabbit defense has produced eight clean sheets and allowed four goals (0.36 GAA).
Four-Year Senior Records. South Dakota State's senior class boasts a 41-21-8 record over the last three-plus years, including a 19-4-0 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 108-42-18 all-time home record, including tournament games at Fishback Soccer Park. Head Coach Brock Thompson, now in his third season, has a 20-3-1 mark at Fishback Soccer Park

SDSU is 44-3-2 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 will be recognized during Sunday's game.

All-Time Top XI
Pos	Name	Years
GK	Nik Lograsso	2005-08
D	Annie Williams	2015-18
D	Jess Heine	2006-09
D	Kelly Larson	2005-08
D	Kerstyn Farrell	2005-08
MF	Caylee Costello	2010-13
MF	Erin Kasmarik	2005-08
MF	Cori Bonte	2008-11
F	Kayla Braffet	2008-11
F	Diana Potterveld	2012-15
F	Jennifer Briggs	2000-02

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 surpassed its goal of $2,000, with final totals set to be announced later this month.

-GoJacks.com-

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Players Mentioned

Eden Brooker

Sunniva Dunagan

MaKayla Griffin

Maya Hansen

Rachel Hewitt

Abigail Kastens

Adalaide Kline

Cece Limongi

Taylor Lock

Karlee Manding

Leah Manuleleua

Carina McLennan

Darien Poelstra

Diana Potterveld

Rachel Preston

Marisa Schulz

Maggie Smither

Shayna Stubbs

Gabby Vivier-Hannay

Annie Williams

Kaitlin Zabel

Upcoming Event: Women's Soccer versus #6 Omaha on November 1, 2025 at 5 p.m.

Completed Event: Women's Soccer at Oral Roberts on October 26, 2025 , Win , 3, to, 2

Completed Event: Women's Soccer at Kansas City on October 23, 2025 , Tie , 1, to, 1

Completed Event: Women's Soccer at South Dakota on October 18, 2025 , Tie , 0, to, 0

Completed Event: Women's Soccer versus Omaha on October 12, 2025 , Win , 3, to, 1

Completed Event: Women's Soccer at Denver on October 9, 2025 , Loss , 0, to, 1

Completed Event: Women's Soccer versus North Dakota State on October 5, 2025 , Win , 2, to, 0

South Dakota State University Athletics