Jackrabbit soccer readies for two weekend games

GAME 7: South Dakota State (3-3) vs. Eastern Washington (3-3-1); at Minnesota (0-4-2)

When	Friday, Sept. 13 \| 6 p.m.	Sunday, Sept. 15 \| 1 p.m.
Where	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium \| Brookings, S.D.	Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium \| Minneapolis, Minn.
Live Video	Jackrabbits All-Access	Big Ten Network Plus
Live Stats	GoJacksLive.com	GopherSports.com
Game Notes	South Dakota State
Social Media	Twitter \| Facebook \| #RabbitsFutbol

South Dakota State women's soccer is set for a pair of games this weekend, hosting Eastern Washington before traveling to Minnesota. The Jackrabbits and Eagles kick at 6 p.m. Friday at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium, while SDSU and the Golden Gophers are set for a Sunday matchup at 1 p.m. in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Friday's match was moved to the football stadium because of wet field conditions at Fishback Soccer Park. Spectators will receive free admission and are asked to enter through the west gate of the stadium. Seating will be general admission in sections 103, 104 and 105.

The Jackrabbits (3-3) are coming off a 1-0 victory over Hawaii on Tuesday, snapping a three-game skid while improving to 3-0 at home.

Leah Manuleleua leads the Jackrabbit attack this season in points (six), goals (three), shots (20) and shots on goal (eight). Karlee Manding has one goal, while Marisa Schulz has tallied a pair of assists through six games. Maya Hansen assisted in one score, as the Jacks have scored four times and allowed four goals in 2019.

Maggie Smither (29 saves, three shutouts), Kaitlin Zabel (37 consecutive starts), Rachel Preston and Gabby Vivier-Hannay have started all six games for SDSU's defense and have a 0.67 goals against average. Vivier-Hannay has logged all 540 available minutes on the field, with Preston second on the team at 529 minutes played. Zabel is third at 527. The back line trio played all 90 minutes together in the last two games.

A Look Across the Pitch
Eastern Washington (3-3-1) split last weekend's action, topping CSU Bakersfield 3-2 before falling to Cal State Northridge, 1-0. The Eagles are minus-three in goal differential, have seen five different players find back of the net in 2019, including team-leader Sariah Keister, who has two goals. Kelsee Winston has 22 saves and one shutout at keeper. SDSU and EWU squared off last season in a 0-0 tie.

Minnesota (0-4-2) has faced a tough run of opponents through six games, and will face North Carolina State at home Friday before the Jackrabbits come to town. The Golden Gophers dropped 1-0 and 2-0 contests to Marquette and Virginia last weekend. Makenzie Langdok leads the Gophers with a pair of goals this season, while Haley Hartkmeyer has a goal and an assist. Minnesota is minus-six in goals differential, allowing 1.65 per contest defensively. Maddie Nielsen has played every minute at keeper for Minnesota, allowing 11 goals with 25 saves.

South Dakota State is searching for its first victory against Minnesota in nine matchups historically, with the last regular season bout coming in the 2015 NCAA Tournament. The Jacks and Gophers squared off in exhibition play last year; a 2-1 victory for Minnesota.

Last Time Out
South Dakota State women's soccer slipped past Hawaii in a 1-0 game Tuesday night, thanks to an 85th-minute goal from Leah Manuleleua.

With time winding down at Fishback Soccer Park, SDSU took possession near midfield and saw Maya Hansen drive her way into the near corner, striking a cross towards the box for Manuleleua. The senior's initial shot was stopped by Hawaii's keeper, but Manuleleua hung tough through traffic and sent the rebound in for a score.

Manuleleua paced the team once again in offensive chances, putting two of her three shots on goal. Marisa Schulz, Carina McLennan, Hansen and Abigail Kastens all had two shots and one shot on goal. In total, State was plus-nine (14-5) in total shots and had seven shots on goal.

Maggie Smither posted her third shutout of the season between the pipes, notching three saves behind a defensive front of Kaitlin Zabel, Gabby Vivier-Hannay and Rachel Preston (a trio that played all 90 minutes).

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 a trio of clean sheets and allowed four goals (0.67 per game).
Four-Year Senior Records. South Dakota State's senior class boasts a 36-21-8 record over the last three 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. The Jackrabbits have posted a plus-.500 record in league play seven times since joining the Summit League, including three of the last four years. The Jackrabbits will host five nonleague opponents in 2019 at Fishback Soccer Park with six contests on the road. So far in 2019, the Jacks are 3-3 in nonleague play with five games remaining.

Home Cooking
Brookings has been good to the Jackrabbits, as South Dakota State boasts a 106-42-18 all-time home record, including tournament games at Fishback Soccer Park. Head Coach Brock Thompson, now in his third season, has a 18-3-1 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, Shanya Stubbs and Sunniva Dunagan.

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.

-GoJacks.com-

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Players Mentioned

Eden Brooker

Sunniva Dunagan

MaKayla Griffin

Maya Hansen

Abigail Kastens

Adalaide Kline

Cece Limongi

Taylor Lock

Karlee Manding

Leah Manuleleua

Carina McLennan

Rachel Preston

Marisa Schulz

Maggie Smither

Gabby Vivier-Hannay

Kaitlin Zabel

Upcoming Event: Women's Soccer at Oral Roberts on October 26, 2025 at 1 p.m.

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

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

Completed Event: Women's Soccer versus North Dakota on October 2, 2025 , Tie , 2, to, 2

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