SDSU plays host to Denver on Sunday in matchup of Summit League unbeatens

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BROOKINGS – South Dakota State plays host to Denver in a Summit League women’s soccer match Sunday at noon at Fishback Soccer Park.

The Pioneers (7-4-2) lead the league standings with a 3-0 mark, while the Jackrabbits (7-4-1) are tied for second with North Dakota at 2-0.

South Dakota State is 4-1-2 all-time against DU, claiming a 2-1 overtime win last season on the road.

Scouting the Pioneers

Denver picked up a 3-2 comeback win at North Dakota State on Thursday night after taking down South Dakota 2-0 and Omaha 3-1 at home last weekend. The Pioneers are the defending league tournament champion.

The Pioneers are outscoring their opponents a combined 21-12, averaging 14.5 shots per contest while holding teams to 10.7 attempts.

Hannah Adler (four goals, five assists) leads the Pioneers with 13 points, while Samantha Feller (six goals) is close behind with 12 points. Camryn MacMillan has scored four goals and added two assists for 10 points and Meg Halvorson has a trio of goals and assists (nine points).

Brittany Wilson has played all 1,236 minutes at keeper for DU with a 0.87 goals against average. She has 55 saves, allowing 12 goals with five shutouts.

Scouting the Jackrabbits

South Dakota State picked up a pair of road victories last week, topping Purdue Fort Wayne 2-1 on Friday before closing the trip with a 3-0 shutout against Western Illinois on Sunday.

SDSU has outscored its opponents 19-9 on the year and has seven shutouts. The Jackrabbits are averaging 15.5 shots per game, putting 74 of their 186 total attempts on goal.

Karlee Manding leads the Jackrabbits with 11 points in her freshman campaign, netting five goals with an assist. Leah Manuleleua is close behind with eight points, tallying three scores and two assists.

Marisa Schulz, Abigail Kastens and Stephanie Dashiell have each found the back of the net twice in 2018.

Carina McLennan (six points) leads all Jacks with four assists, while seven others have one assist each. In total, 13 Jackrabbits have recorded a point this season, matching last year’s total through just 12 games.

Defensively, Evans, Annie Williams, Alexa Hepner and Kaitlin Zabel have started all 10 games for a Jackrabbit back line. Hepner leads the team with 1,024 minutes played, just ahead of Zabel’s 1,000 and Williams’ 986 minutes.

Maggie Smither has started every game at goalkeeper for SDSU and holds a 0.76 goals against average. She has allowed nine goals in 1,064 minutes of action, recording six shutouts while assisting in one more.

Jackrabbit Quick Hits

 SDSU is 19-16-43 all-time in overtime matches.

 SDSU has won six consecutive Summit League openers after its 2-1 win over PFW and is 11-1 all-time in such contests.

 SDSU went 7-0 to win the Summit League regular-season title last year.

Home Cooking

Brookings has been good to the Jackrabbits, as South Dakota State boasts a 98-41-18 all-time home record.

Since moving to the Summit League in 2007, the Jackrabbits are 72-22-11 at home. And although the program saw an 11-match home unbeaten streak come to an end in the nonconference season, the Jackrabbits are now 11-2-1 at Fishback Soccer Park under head coach Brock Thompson.

Specific to Summit League play, the Jackrabbits are 40-3-2 all-time in home league games and have lost only one home Summit League match since 2010.

Matchup of 1 vs. 2 in preseason poll

The Pioneers totaled 61 points, including six first-place votes, in the Summit League preseason poll.

The Jackrabbits were picked second with 57 points, including three first-place votes.