Soccer hits the road for weekend matches

GAMES 9-10: South Dakota State (5-3) at Northern Iowa (4-3); at Northern Illinois (1-3-1)

When	Friday, Sept. 20 \| 6 p.m.	Sunday, Sept. 22 \| 1 p.m.
Where	Cedar Valley Soccer Complex \| Cedar Falls, Iowa	Soccer and Track & Field Complex \| DeKalb, Ill.
Live Video	ESPN+	Huskies All-Access
Live Stats	UNIPanthers.com	NIUHuskies.com
Game Notes	South Dakota State
Social Media	Twitter \| Facebook \| #RabbitsFutbol

The Jackrabbit women's soccer squad hits the road this week for a pair of games, traveling to Northern Iowa and Northern Illinois. South Dakota State will take on the Panthers Friday night in Cedar Falls, Iowa at 6 p.m. The Jacks conclude the weekend in DeKalb, Illinois on Sunday against the Huskies at 1 p.m.

The Jacks (5-3) carry a three-game winning streak into the road trip, topping Hawaii, Eastern Washington and Minnesota in a trio of 1-0 victories last week. These are the final two nonleague road games of the season for SDSU.

Leah Manuleleua has continued her torrid pace on the offensive end of the field, netting game-winners in four of SDSU's five victories. The senior leads the team in points (10), goals (five), shots (26) and shots on goal (13) while starting all eight matches.

Karlee Manding has the other Jackrabbit score for the season, while Marisa Schulz has tallied a pair of assists through eight games. Maya Hansen and Maureen Tolley have each assisted in one score, as the Jacks have scored six times and allowed only four goals in 2019.

Maggie Smither (47 saves, five shutouts) has been a rock between the pipes, playing 693-plus minutes with a 0.52 goals against average. The senior broke the school's shutout record last week and now has 23 for her career.

Kaitlin Zabel (38 consecutive starts) and Rachel Preston have started every game in the back line for the Jackrabbit defense, while Gabby Vivier-Hannay has started seven times. Preston's 709 minutes is a team-high, while Zabel is close behind at 707 minutes played. Vivier-Hannay has played all minutes available to her (630) after missing the Minnesota contest. She will return for the weekend's action in Iowa and Illinois.

Carina McLennan and Darien Poelstra have provided stability in the midfield, logging over 500 minutes each (Poelstra has 607) to go with four shots apiece.

A Look Across the Pitch
Northern Iowa (4-3) is coming off a 3-0 victory against North Dakota State, but was taken down 4-0 the week prior by Kansas City. The Panthers have faced off with three Summit League opponents, going 2-1 in those contests. UNI has found the net 18 times this season (2.5 per game), led by Jordyn Rolli's five scores and three assists. Sydney Hayden (four assists) and Jamie Althiser (one assist) have each scored three goals.

The Panthers have limited opponents to 13 goals on the year (1.8 per game), with Anna Kaiser and Jordyn Petty sharing time in net. Kaiser has a 1.75 goals against average in 350 minutes, and Petty holds a 1.89 GAA mark over 286 minutes. Both keepers have 18 saves.

The Jackrabbits are 8-2-3 all-time against Northern Iowa and 3-2-1 on the road against the Panthers. SDSU dropped a 1-0 contest back in 2017 in Cedar Falls, Iowa, but last year defeated the Panthers 1-0 at home.

Northern Illinois (1-3-1) picked up its first win against Summit League foe Western Illinois two weeks ago, but dropped a 2-0 contest to Loyola Chicago last time out. The Huskies will take on Marquette on Friday prior to the Jackrabbits' arrival in DeKalb, Illinois. NIU has scored six times on the year, led by Trudy Quidzinski's four scores and one assist. Quidzinski has not played in the previous two games, however. Hannah Kroupa and Julia Neary have appeared in all five games and each have a goal.

Defensively, the Huskies have allowed 12 goals. Megan Donnally played all 90 minutes in the game at Loyola Chicago, allowing two scored with four saves. Julia Lentz has played all other available minutes (380) with 10 goals allowed and 22 saves.

South Dakota State is 3-0 all-time against Northern Illinois, but the teams have not faced off since 2013 when the Jacks topped the Huskies at home, 2-1.

Last Time Out
History was made Sunday afternoon at Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota, as the South Dakota State women's soccer team took down the Minnesota Golden Gophers on their home turf, 1-0.

It was South Dakota State's first-ever win over its neighbors to the East, and the Jackrabbits' first power-five victory since 2014.

Maggie Smither was an overwhelming presence between the pipes, tallying seven saves while facing 16 total Gopher attacks. A hot afternoon saw 19 Jackrabbits spend time on the pitch, as South Dakota State buckled down defensively and kept Minnesota off the board.

Leah Manuleleua put all three of her shots on goal, finding the net for the third time this week with her fifth game-winning goal of the season. Maya Hansen had two shots (one on goal) and two others (Darien Poelstra and Karlee Manding) had shots.

South Dakota State used a strong defensive effort in the first half to head for the locker room tied, 0-0. Minnesota racked up eight shots in the opening frame and put five on goal, but Smither and Jackrabbit back line held firm and turned back any attack. Though State had only one shot on goal in the first half, numerous Gopher chances were turned into counters and deep runs for the Jackrabbits.

Minnesota pressured hard and fast out of the break, but it was South Dakota State that broke through first when Manuleleua found the net in the 64th minute.

Poelstra set the score up by taking possession in the defensive third, playing a long ball for Manuleleua. The Manteca, California native then outran her mark, shook a defender and sent a right-footed ball past the keeper and into the net.

Minnesota looked to draw even immediately after with a trio of shots in the next five minutes, but Smither again stood tall in net and kept the Gophers at bay.

The teams traded chances over the final 20 minutes of action, but South Dakota State would not give way en route to its third-straight victory.

Jacks Honored by Summit League
Fresh off a week of three shutout victories, South Dakota State women's soccer swept the Summit League's Sept. 16 weekly honors as Leah Manuleleua was named the Offensive Player of the Week, and Maggie Smither picked up Defensive Player of the Week honors.

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.

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.

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 five clean sheets and allowed four goals (0.50 per game).
Four-Year Senior Records. South Dakota State's senior class boasts a 38-21-8 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 5-3 in nonleague play with three games remaining.

Home Cooking
Brookings has been good to the Jackrabbits, as South Dakota State boasts a 107-42-18 all-time home record, including tournament games at Fishback Soccer Park. Head Coach Brock Thompson, now in his third season, has a 19-3-1 mark at Fishback Soccer Park

SDSU is 44-3-2 against Summit League opponents and has lost just one home league contest since 2010.

Jackrabbits Hosting GOALD Game
South Dakota State women's soccer and Sanford Children's Cure Kids Cancer! have teamed up this season to host the first-ever GOALD Game, Saturday, Sept. 28 at Fishback Soccer Park. The Jackrabbits host New Mexico State at noon in the final nonleague game of the season, but the match will hold a deeper meaning as the organizations partner to raise awareness and support during National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.

Jackrabbit soccer will be selling GOALD Game t-shirts for $10 at the field, with proceeds benefiting Sanford Children's Cure Kids Cancer!

Additionally, fans can support the cause by donating towards a "Pie in the Face" fundraiser, where the individual with the most money will be "pie'd" during the contest.

Participants are: Brock Thompson (SDSU Women's Soccer Head Coach), Justin Sell (SDSU Director of Athletics), Cade Johnson (Football), Owen King (Men's Basketball), Myah Selland (Women's Basketball) and Carina McLennan (Women's Soccer).

The Jackrabbit soccer team has set a fundraising goal of $2,000 for the GOALD Game, and if that goal is met all six participants have agreed to be "pie'd."

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.

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 will have a chance to vote for the Top 11, who will be recognized pregame of SDSU's Oct. 6 contest with North Dakota.

The ballot includes all-league first or second team honorees who have exhausted their eligibility. Fans can also visit GoJacks.com/Top11 to view and vote on the Jackrabbit Soccer All-Time Top 11. Voting concludes Sept. 23.

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-

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Recent Results

Players Mentioned

Eden Brooker

Sunniva Dunagan

MaKayla Griffin

Maya Hansen

Adalaide Kline

Cece Limongi

Taylor Lock

Karlee Manding

Leah Manuleleua

Carina McLennan

Darien Poelstra

Rachel Preston

Marisa Schulz

Maggie Smither

Maureen Tolley

Gabby Vivier-Hannay

Kaitlin Zabel

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

South Dakota State University Athletics