JACKS CLAIM SECOND SEED WITH DRAW VERSUS MAVS

Tuesday, October 24

Brookings, S.D.

4 p.m.

South Dakota State University

11-3-3, 4-1-3

Omaha

6-4-6, 3-1-4

Omaha

South Dakota St.

Avery Murdzek

Photo by: Andrew Pedersen

10/24/2023 9:39:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

By: Andrew Pedersen

BROOKINGS, S.D. — South Dakota State batted to a competitive 1-1 draw against Omaha on Tuesday, Oct. 24, at Fishback Soccer Park in the final match of the 2023 regular season. The result solidified SDSU's second place finish in The Summit League standings and the opportunity for the Jackrabbits to host the opening two rounds of the conference tournament.

The Jacks and Mavericks met on Tuesday in Brookings to square off in a rescheduled matchup from Oct. 12. Both sides had plenty to play for heading into the contest. Omaha had an opportunity to jump from the fourth slot in The Summit League standings to No. 2, and be able to also gain hosting duties for the conference tournament, with a win. SDSU with a victory would share co-regular season title honors alongside Denver which went 5-1-2 in Summit League competition.

In the end, the result ended up leaving the two sides where they began to start the evening of action.

The Jacks and Mavs each finished with 10 shots apiece in what resembled an even played match. SDSU ended the conference campaign by going 4-1-3 against Summit League foes, with its 15 points good for second place. Omaha closed out a 3-1-4 slate in conference play and tied Oral Roberts with 13 points, however, its loss to the Golden Eagles during the slate kept the Mavs in the No. 4 position.

"I love the focus we played with tonight," said South Dakota State head coach Brock Thompson. "I thought this was a playoff-type atmosphere and it played out that way. The moments to change the game came few and far between and both teams had one moment. Unfortunate our effort wasn't rewarded with a regular season championship, but certainly proud of our team."

South Dakota State took a 1-0 lead into halftime thanks to a late first-half goal. Kaycee Manding sent a pass into the box that found Katherine Jones. The Jackrabbit senior used a left-footed strike past the keeper to put SDSU ahead in the 43rd minute.

Omaha tied the score column in the 66th minute. Alyssa Keller put one past Jackrabbit keeper Jocelyn Tanner thanks to assists from Lauren Schmidt and Grace Ostergaard to tie the margin at one apiece with 24 minutes remaining.

The Mavs produced a shot in the 75th minute, then the Jackrabbits ripped off the contest's final four shots with the last by Avery Murdzek coming in the 90th minute.

Notes

South Dakota State completed its regular season with an 11-3-3 overall record behind its third consecutive draw.
Omaha ended its slate with a 6-4-6 overall mark. The Mavericks begin their conference tournament appearance on Friday in Denver against No. 5 South Dakota. The winner of that matchup will face Denver on Sunday at the Pioneers' home pitch.

Up Next
The Jackrabbits will compete at Fishback Soccer Park again on Sunday. SDSU hosts the quarterfinal matchup between No. 3 Oral Roberts and No. 6 Kansas City on Friday at 4 p.m. in Brookings. The winner of that contest will face SDSU in the semifinals at 1 p.m. Sunday at Fishback.

-GoJacks.com-