Mavericks split games in first NSIC matches
With the preseason and exhibition matches behind them, the Minnesota State Mavericks soccer team played their first NSIC contest since the late fall of 2019. MSU went on the road to Nebraska to take on Wayne State in their first conference matchup of the season, then to Sioux Falls where the Mavericks took on Augustana.
Minnesota State’s first game of the season against an NSIC opponent got off to a great start early on with Ashlyn Watt receiving a pass from one of her teammates up the middle. Watt then led on her teammate Louisa Shromoff past the Wildcats’ defenders, giving her all the space in the world. Shromoff made one quick move around the Wane State goalkeeper and buried the ball to put the Mavericks in the lead just 12 minutes into the game.
The Mavericks kept the momentum in their favor with a very aggressive play from Jenny Vetter. The Wayne State goalkeeper saved a shot from a Maverick forward, proceeding to not handle the ball properly, dropping it right in front of her.
Vetter then came in at the right place at the right time, scooping up the muffed ball and sliding it right past the goalkeeper to make it a 2-0 Maverick lead.
The game stayed fairly quiet scoring wise for most of the game following the two Maverick goals, up until minute 86, where Molly Michaelson and Megan Philips connected to cut the MSU lead down to one in a last minute attempt at a comeback.
The Mavericks came out on top in the end, taking their first NSIC matchup by a score of 2-1, and pushing Wayne State down to an overall record of 0-3-1.
As the Mavericks took the day off on Saturday, they got ready for what is potentially their biggest NSIC competitor, Augustana.
The low scoring contest was almost as even as it could get with the exception of Carlie Kray of Augustana burying the only goal of the game at 55:58.
The two teams stayed even in saves, with Augustana tallying one more shot on goal.
With the loss, the Mavericks went to 3-2 on the year (1-1 NSIC), while Augustana improved to 2-2-1 (1-0-1 NSIC).