JACKS OPEN 2022 SEASON AT ARIZONA STATE

Game 1: South Dakota State at Arizona State
Date and Time	Thursday, August 18 - 9 p.m. CDT/ 7 p.m. MST
Location	Tempe, Arizona
Site	Sun Devil Soccer/Lacrosse Stadium
TV/Stream	Pac-12 Arizona/cable subscripton required
Live Stats	TheSunDevils.com (Statbroadcast)
South Dakota State	Game Notes \| Home Page
Arizona State	Home Page

BROOKINGS, S.D. – The South Dakota State women's soccer team begins the season on the road with its first three games of the 2022 slate taking place in Arizona. The Jackrabbits take on Arizona State in Tempe on Thursday, Aug. 18, at 9 p.m. CT to begin a three-game swing through the state which includes matchups at Grand Canyon (Aug. 21) and Northern Arizona (Aug. 23). SDSU makes its home debut on Sunday, Aug. 28, when the Jacks take on Bemidji State.

The Jackrabbits played two exhibitions during their preseason slate to prepare for the upcoming season. SDSU topped Green Bay 4-0 in a neutral site contest on Aug. 10, then defeated Augustana 3-2 in Sioux Falls on Aug. 13. Six players combined to score the seven goals across two matches while every athlete on the roster saw time on the pitch.

"I learned that we're really deep," SDSU head coach Brock Thompson said of his squad through the two exhibition matchups. "We can play a couple of different systems and we have a variety of players that can score for us. That's what makes this team pretty special this year. We can score from a lot of areas on the field and we have a number of players that really bring some attacking skill to the field."

South Dakota State heads into the season having won its sixth Summit League tournament title last November after taking second in the conference's regular season standings. The Jacks were recently picked by the league's head coaches to again take second in the conference preseason poll, but plenty of season awaits with the quarterfinals of the 2022 Summit League tournament scheduled for Oct. 28.

"Our approach to every season is to be playing our best soccer in late October and early November," Thompson said. "To do that, we have to have the right mindset in August and September. That's kind of a build it approach, focus on the performance and the process, not the outcome and the result. It helps having an experienced team like we have right now."

A team that returns nine primary starters from a season ago, as well as 16 total players on the roster that have started in at least one game in their college career, faces Arizona State in Tempe in the teams' second all-time meeting. The Sun Devils traveled to Brookings in 2018 and topped the Jacks 2-0 on Sept. 10 at Fishback Soccer Park. Arizona State enters the season slotted 10th in the Pac-12 Preseason Coaches' Poll following a 10-8-2 ledger in 2021.

"Arizona State came to play us in 2018 and (head coach) Graham (Winkworth) has been great about scheduling us," Thompson said. "We owed them a return and that's why we're making the trip. I love Arizona, I don't know how much I love it in August, but we're about to find out.

"What we learned from going to Hawaii last year, extended time away from campus is a great team bonding experience. We're there to get better as a soccer team, but we're also there to become closer together as a soccer family. I think the time that this trip affords us will be valuable later in the year."

South Dakota State's game at Arizona State will only be aired on Pac-12 Arizona as part of the Pac-12 Networks. Pac-12 Arizona is available on fuboTV, Sling TV and Vidgo with a premium subscription fee. Live stats for the game are available on TheSunDevils.com (Statbroadcast).

News & Notes

South Dakota State enters the 2022 season after a campaign that saw the Jacks finish 17-4-1 and eventually win The Summit League Conference tournament title. The Jackrabbits capped the season with a loss in the NCAA Tournament to Pepperdine.
The Jackrabbits have several athletes that were honored in 2021 with all-league honors returning in 2022. Jocelyn Tanner was The Summit League's Goalkeeper of the Year, while Maya Hansen (1st Team), Avery Murdzek (1st Team & Newcomer of the Year), Rachel Preston (2nd Team) and Laney Murdzek (2nd Team) claimed accolades.
Hansen and teammate Cece Limongi were announced as Summit League Players to Watch by the conference on Tuesday. Hansen also earned Player to Watch accolades as one of 41 forwards in Division I women's soccer by United Soccer Coaches.
SDSU's 17 wins last year were the most ever for the program in a single season. The Jacks went 9-0 at home a season ago, their best mark ever at Fishback Soccer Park.
Brock Thompson enters his sixth season at the helm of the Jackrabbit soccer program. Thompson's squads have surpassed 10 wins in each of his first five seasons. SDSU has finished no worse than second place in The Summit League under Thompson's guidance.
The Jacks set several single-season record marks during the 2021 season. The squad established records of 47 assists and 146 corner kicks. Maya Hansen was the program's third ever 30-point scorer and Rachel Preston played the sixth most minutes ever in a season of 1,835 over the course of 22 matches.
SDSU was voted to contend for a conference championship by its peers as the Jackrabbits were picked to finish second in The Summit League which was announced on Tuesday. The Jackrabbits picked up 76 points behind four first-place votes, trailing Denver's 78 points and six first-place votes.
The Jackrabbits have made five Summit League Tournament Championship appearances in the last eight years and won each. The only time SDSU has made the title game as the top seed was in 2014.

-GoJacks.com-

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Recent Results

Players Mentioned

Maya Hansen

Cece Limongi

Avery Murdzek

Laney Murdzek

Rachel Preston

Jocelyn Tanner

Upcoming Event: Women's Soccer at Augustana on April 9, 2026 at 6 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Women's Soccer at Sioux Falls on April 15, 2026 at 7 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Women's Soccer versus Northern State on April 19, 2026 at 1 p.m.

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

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

Completed Event: Women's Soccer at #5 Iowa on November 14, 2025 , Loss , 0, to, 1

Completed Event: Women's Soccer at #1 Oral Roberts on November 9, 2025 , Win , 2, to, 0

Completed Event: Women's Soccer versus #2 Denver on November 6, 2025 , Win , 1, to, 0

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