South Dakota State closes out a five-match stretch on the road with a two-game swing east of the 605 State. The Jackrabbits face Western Illinois on Thursday at 5 p.m., then play at Green Bay at noon on Sunday.Â
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After dropping the season opener on Aug. 15 at home against Kansas by a 2-1 score, SDSU went 2-1 during the first portion of the five-contest span away from Brookings. The Jackrabbits earned a 2-0 victory at Northern Colorado on Aug. 19 before a 1-0 setback at Colorado College three days later. This past Sunday saw the Jacks get out to a 2-0 lead 30 minutes into their match at Wyoming before closing out a 3-0 victory over the Cowgirls in Laramie. Â
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The Jackrabbits will face two teams that they have fairly lengthy histories with this week. SDSU faced Western Illinois each season from 2008 to 2022 with both members of The Summit League. The Jackrabbits played Green Bay last season and are 8-2 all-time against the Phoenix.Â
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SDSU is 17-1-1 against Western Illinois. The Jackrabbits have won 13 straight matches against the Leathernecks and are unbeaten versus WIU in the last 17. The last contest between the two, in October of 2022, resulted in a 4-1 win for the Jacks in Macomb. Several Jackrabbits found their way into the stats in that meeting with
Lauren Eckerle and
Laney Murdzek each scoring goals, while Murdzek and
Kaycee Manding registered assists.
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Green Bay won the first two matchups in the series versus SDSU, but the Jackrabbits have won the last eight contests. SDSU defeated the Phoenix in Green Bay last season, 5-0, and have outscored them 11-0 in the last three contests combined. Current Jacks to score goals in last season's meeting were
Katelyn Beulke and
Maleah Evans.Â
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The Jackrabbits have outshot their opponents in all four matches this season, but finally saw progress in capitalizing in their 3-0 win at Wyoming Sunday. Freshman
Mia Bosch now owns the team lead with five points and two goals. Several others have notched goals in Beulke,
Laney Murdzek,
Adrianne Agbayani and
Hailee Christensen this season. Splitting time in goal this season have been
Emma Knack and
Stephanie Leckwold.
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Coverage Information
SDSU's match at Western Illinois will not have a stream available. The Jackrabbits' match at Green Bay will be streamed on ESPN+ with a subscription needed. Live stat links for both matches can be found on the Jackrabbit soccer schedule page on GoJacks.com.
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-GoJacks.com-