BROOKINGS – South Dakota State secured the Summit League women’s soccer regular-season title on Sunday, routing rival North Dakota State 4-0 at Fishback Soccer Park.
It marked the Jackrabbits’ fifth title – and third outright – since joining the conference.
“It’s an honor, certainly; but our focus is just on growing, getting better and just trying to be our best every day,” said first-year SDSU head coach Brock Thompson. “And I think it’s a byproduct of that mentality. I’m so proud for our players to be able to tangibly receive that honor for buying into the process.”
SDSU used a fast start to take control.
Julia Lam’s first goal of the season – set up by a cross from fellow senior Nicole Hatcher – got the Jackrabbits on the board less than 8 minutes into the contest.
Leah Manuleleua doubled the advantage 5 1/2 minutes later, intercepting a clearance from Bison goalkeeper Monica Polgar and then finding the back of the net for her seventh goal of the year.
“I thought we started fantastic; great effort,” said Thompson. “We were probably energized a little bit on a day when we were celebrating our seniors. But other than just energy, I thought we played really good soccer. I thought we attacked wide with a lot of composure, and any time you can score a couple early goals in the first half it just changes the complexion of the game.”
Tori Poole and Jennie Scislow are the team’s other seniors.
SDSU outshot NDSU 16-5, including a 7-1 advantage on goal.
“I thought it was a lot of fun,” said Hatcher, who pushed her school-record career assists total to 23. “I think we came out just as focused in the first half as the second half and put together a good 90 minutes of soccer.”
An own goal made it 3-0 in the 63rd minute after Bianca Madonia’s cross into the box bounced off an NDSU defender and past the goalkeeper into the net
Hatcher’s seventh goal of the season provided for the final margin in the 69th minute. She headed home Annie Williams’ free kick from 40 yards out.
Maggie Smither made one save in 78:32 of action to earn the win in goal. Taylor Lock came in for the final 11:28 to help complete the shutout.
Unbeaten
The Jackrabbits (11-4-3, 7-0) won all their Summit League regular-season matches for the first time. They also went undefeated in 2011, going 8-0-1.
SDSU outscored its seven conference foes a combined 16-1 in the regular season, and has now posted six consecutive league shutouts and hasn’t allowed a Summit foe to score in more than 630 minutes (Denver had a goal 4:44 into the first conference match of the year).
“Our communication and our flexibility in the back – we have great goalkeepers, we have great people that can play at both center-back and outside-back; and if we get a little fatigued, we have just as good of players that come off the bench,” Hatcher said of the defense. “I think that’s just something other teams usually don’t get to have.”
Streaks
The Jackrabbits’ unbeaten streak reached a school-record 11 matches.
Their nine-match winning streak is one off the school record of 10 set in 2008 and tied for the fifth longest in Summit League history.
“We’re playing really well, but we also understand that the tournament is a different monster,” Thompson noted. “Things tighten up and, you know, one play can change, really, the dimension of your season.
“We’ll be prepared for that, but we’ll enjoy this for tonight and get to work on Tuesday.”
When asked about momentum heading into the postseason, Hatcher added, “I can’t say that it could get much better, just because we beat some of the best teams later in the year. So I think that’s going to be really good for us moving forward.”
LONGEST WINNING STREAK – SUMMIT LEAGUE
1. IUPUI, 2009 – 12
2. Denver, 2013 – 11
T3. Oakland, 2003 – 10
T3. South Dakota State, 2008 – 10
T5. Oral Roberts, 2002 – 9
T5. South Dakota State, 2017 – 9
Summit League Women’s Soccer Championship
The Jackrabbits and Bison (7-10, 5-2), who dropped to the fourth seed, face off in the second semifinal Thursday at 2:30 p.m. at Dacotah Field in Fargo, N.D.
No. 2 Denver (9-8-1, 5-2-0) takes on No. 3 Oral Roberts (8-9-1, 5-2-0) in the first semifinal at 11:30 a.m.
The championship is Saturday at noon.
SDSU has qualified for the postseason in nine of its 10 years of eligibility.
The Jackrabbits have won four tournament titles, including the past three.
