JACKRABBITS SET FOR HOME OPENER

GAMES 5 & 6: South Dakota State (2-0-2, 2-0-2) vs. Kansas City (4-3-0, 4-2-0)

When	Friday, March 5 - 3 p.m. \| Sunday, March 7 - 1 p.m.
Where	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium \| Brookings, S.D.
Live Video	GoJacks.com/Watch
Live Stats	GoJacksLive.com
Game Notes	South Dakota State
Social Media	Twitter \| Facebook \| #RabbitsFutbol

For the first time since November of 2019, South Dakota State women's soccer will play a home contest as the Jackrabbits are set to face Kansas City for a two-game series taking place March 5 and 7 at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium. Game times are scheduled for 3 p.m. and 1 p.m., respectively.

The pair of games against Kansas City opens a six-game homestand for the Jacks.

The Jackrabbits continue their 16-game conference schedule after earning their first two wins of the season last weekend in a series sweep over Oral Roberts in Tulsa.

South Dakota State is coming off a 15-5-2 season in 2019, which included winning the Summit League Championship and making its fifth appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

About the Jackrabbits
In four matches played in 2021, the Jacks have held strong defensively, recording four consecutive shutouts to open the season. SDSU is the only Summit League team not to allow a goal thus far in the season. Splitting times between the pipes is he duo of Hailee Fischer and Taylor Lock, who have combined for 11 saves. Defensively, the Jacks have held opponents to 33 shots this season.

Offensively, Kayla Wisniewski scored her first two goals as a Jackrabbit last weekend against Oral Roberts. Other players to find the back of the net in the two wins were Cecilia Limongi and Eden Brooker.

SDSU has attempted 61 shots with 21 of them being on goal. Leading the team in shots is Rachel Hewitt, who in 244 minutes played, has fired six shots on goal in 14 tries. Hewitt ranks first in the Summit League in shots per game (3.50). Nine other Jackrabbits have recorded at least three combined shot attempts so far on the season.

State outscored its opponents 29-8 in 2019 and had a Summit League record 15 shutouts, ranking third nationally in shutout percentage. The Jackrabbits averaged 14.3 shots per contest, putting 126 of their 314 total efforts on goal. Defensively, SDSU limited opponents to 10.4 shots per game and allowed only nine goals for the season, including five in the final 17 games.

SDSU returns six starters from last season.

Returning for the Jacks is the reigning Summit League Freshman of the Year Maya Hansen. A sophomore from Savage, Minnesota, Hansen finished second on the team in points (18) and goals (seven), along with four assists in her first season as a Jackrabbit. Hansen posted five game-winning goals in 2019 and started 20 games for the Jacks. Hansen earned spots on the All-Summit League Second Team and the Summit League All-Freshman Team in 2019. Hansen has an assist and three shot attempts through four games in 2021.

Karlee Manding enters her junior year with the Jackrabbits after making the 2019 All-Summit League Second Team in 2019 and the Summit League All-Freshman Team in 2018. The midfielder from Waipahu, Hawaii has 20 career points and eight career goals over 2,000 career minutes. Karlee and her sister Kaycee combined for three assists and six shots in the two games against the Golden Eagles.

SDSU brings back all three of its line of defenders to give the Jacks experience defensively. Kaitlin Zabel was a member of the 2019 All-Summit League First team while Gabby Vivier-Hannay was named to the 2019 All-Summit League Second Team. A senior from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Vivier-Hannay earned Summit League Defensive Player of the Week honors after playing 177 minutes in the two shutout wins last weekend.

A Look Ahead
South Dakota State hosts current first-place holder Denver March 12 & 14. Start times are scheduled for 3 p.m. March 12 and 1 p.m. March 14.

Scouting the Roos
Kansas City enters the weekend 4-3 overall and 4-2 in Summit League play. The Roos currently sit above SDSU in the league standings at third place. After Kansas City fell to Saint Louis University in its lone nonconference game of the season, the Roos split their first two conference series against North Dakota State and South Dakota. Most recently, Kansas City swept Western Illinois on the road, including a double overtime win Feb. 28.

Kansas City is third in the conference in total goals (10) with five of its goals coming in the first half of matches while four have been game winning. Defensively, the Roos have allowed 16 goals so far on the season, which is the most in the Summit League. Kansas City's goalkeepers are second in the league in saves with 31.

Leading the Roos is Hayden Burnett, who in seven games played, has recorded five points on three assists and one goal. Emily Jensen and Sarah Karloff each have two goals. Jensen is second on the team in shots with 10. In the goal, Mackenzie Caldwell and Afton Fennewald each have seen time at the goalkeeper position. Caldwell is 3-1 on the season with 19 saves while Fennewald is 1-2 with 12 saves.

Sophia Limongi, sister to Jackrabbit forward Cecilia Limongi, is a freshman defender on Kansas City's roster.

Jess Smith is in her first season as head coach of Kansas City. She came in taking over a program that went 13-4-4 last season and reached the championship game of the WAC Tournament, where they fell to Utah Valley, 3-1. 2019 was the third consecutive winning season by Kansas City.

All-Time Series
South Dakota State leads the all-time series vs. Kansas City 5-2. The last matchup resulted in a 1-0 Jackrabbit loss Aug. 27, 2017 in Kansas City.

Dana J. Dykhouse "Futbol" Stadium
This weekend's series isn't the first time the Jackrabbit soccer team has played a regular season game at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium. Back on Sept. 13, 2019, SDSU's game vs. Eastern Washington was moved to the stadium due to wet field conditions at Fishback Soccer Park. The Jacks defeated Eastern Washington in that game, 1-0.

The week of home soccer events, it will be determined no later than Wednesday whether Fishback Soccer Park or Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium will be the home venue, based on weather forecasts and field conditions.

Matches played at Fishback Soccer Park will be limited to current 2021 season ticket holders, player families and students. There will be no single-game sales available.

For matches at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium, including games Friday (3 p.m.) and Sunday (1 p.m.) against Kansas City, tickets will be made available online for advance single-game purchase by the general public at www.JackrabbitTickets.com, or over the phone at 605-688-5422. There will be no walk-up sales the day of the event. Fans will enter the stadium through the main west gate.

Last Time Out (Feb. 28, 2021)
TULSA, Okla. - Two goals in the first nine minutes of the second half pushed South Dakota State women's soccer past Oral Roberts, 2-0 Sunday afternoon.

The Jackrabbits improved to 2-0-2 on the season and recorded their fourth consecutive shutout. The Golden Eagles fell to 0-5-0 and 0-4-0 in conference play.

As a team, State tied its season high in shots with 19 total, including seven on goal. 15 of the 19 shots came in the second half. Hailee Fischer and Taylor Lock split time in the goal throughout the game, spending 45 minutes apiece between the pipes. Lock recorded two saves to secure the shutout.

Rachel Hewitt led the team in shots, recording five shots (two on goal). Cecilia Limongi attempted three shots, including two on goal, while four other Jackrabbits attempted at least one shot in the contest.

Hewitt took all four of the team's shots in the first half, but couldn't find the net as three of her shots missed high or wide and her final attempt of the half was blocked. Oral Roberts took just one shot in the half, taking place in the 43rd minute in a quiet first half for both teams offensively.

Action picked up at the start of the second. On the third corner kick of the half, Kaycee Manding connected with Limongi in the 53rd minute to put the Jacks up 1-0. Two minutes later, Kayla Wisniewski gathered the ball deflecting off the right post and delivered the goal in the box to stretch the SDSU lead to 2-0. The Jacks searched for more, attempting 13 shots in the final 36 minutes of play, but came up unsuccessful. Lock came up big between the pipes, saving both of Oral Roberts' shots on goal in the second half.

-GoJacks.com-

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Players Mentioned

Eden Brooker

Hailee Fischer

Maya Hansen

Rachel Hewitt

Cece Limongi

Taylor Lock

Karlee Manding

Kaycee Manding

Gabby Vivier-Hannay

Kaitlin Zabel

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Completed Event: Women's Soccer at Augustana on April 9, 2026 ,

Completed Event: Women's Soccer at Minnesota on March 28, 2026 ,

Completed Event: Women's Soccer at Nebraska on March 7, 2026 ,

Completed Event: Women's Soccer versus Alumni Game on March 1, 2026 ,

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