JACKS CRUISE PAST LEATHERNECKS SUNDAY

Sunday, October 9

Macomb, Ill.

1:00 PM

South Dakota State University

Western Illinois

Laney Murdzek

Photo by: Dave Eggen/Inertia

10/9/2022 3:13:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

By: Andrew Pedersen

MACOMB, Ill. – South Dakota State took control of the match early and was dominant in a 4-1 victory over Western Illinois on Sunday, Oct. 9, in a Summit League women's soccer matchup at John MacKenzie Alumni Field.

The Jackrabbits recorded nine of the game's first 10 shots, with four alone coming off the foot of Cece Limongi, before finding the back of the net. On a corner kick opportunity in the 31st minute, Laney Murdzek found Maya Hansen open in front of goal and the SDSU forward knocked in a header to put the Jacks ahead 1-0.

SDSU continued to put the pressure on the Leatherneck defense until the final moments of the first half. The Jacks had a corner kick chance with seconds remaining in the half. Kaycee Manding sent a pass into the box and Lauren Eckerle found an opening to place another header into the net for another Jackrabbit goal. The 45th minute goal ended a half that featured an SDSU 11-2 edge in shots and 7-0 advantage in corner kicks.

The two sides played on near even terms for a majority of the second half until Western Illinois got on the board. The Leathernecks' Angie Knies got a solid pass from Sydnee Sagal and connected on a shot outside the box over the head of SDSU goalkeeper Hailee Fischer to make it a 2-1 contest in the 77th minute.

The Jackrabbits reasserted themselves over the next 13 minutes. SDSU regained control of the possession and outshot Western Illinois 4-0 in the next 10 minutes of play. Hansen put the game out of reach in the 87th minute. Karlee Manding used a great move on the edge of the box to get past a pair of Leatherneck defenders. She sent a pass into the middle of the goal where Hansen struck a shot into the top corner for her second tally of the day.

Murdzek put a final stamp on the proceedings Sunday. She found a clearing into the middle of the field and sent a strong strike from outside the top of the box past the sprawling Leatherneck goalkeeper. Her goal in the 88th minute ended the scoring at the 4-1 margin.

Notes
SDSU improved to 9-0-5 overall and 3-0-2 in The Summit League. Western Illinois dropped to 3-8-3 (1-5-0). Hansen's brace was the fourth two-goal game of her college career and first this season. Karlee Manding now has a team-high seven assists while Kaycee Manding is tied for second with five. Murdzek's goal was the first for her this season. Fischer and Jocelyn Tanner each recorded saves for the Jackrabbits in goal. Rachel Preston played a team-high 76 minutes for the SDSU defense while Avery LeBlanc and Delaney Grant each competed for 46 minutes off the Jackrabbit bench. The Jacks held possession for 64% of the duration of the contest that improved the squad to 5-0-1 away from home this year. SDSU finished the match with a 24-5 advantage in shots and 12-0 margin in corner kicks.

Up Next
The Jackrabbits return to Brookings for their final two home regular season games at Fishback Soccer Park. SDSU hosts Oral Roberts at 6 p.m. on Friday and takes on Kansas City for Senior Day at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

-GoJacks.com-