After winning seven of their first nine games, the SDSU women’s soccer team opened their Summit League conference play with a 1-0 victory against South Dakota Sunday, Sept. 24, their first win in Vermillion in nine years.
On offense, SDSU had a total of 20 shots between nine players, their third-highest total this season. Six of these shots came in the first eight minutes of regulation.
Lauren Eckerle and Avery Murdzek each had a team-high four shots in the game while Katelyn Beulke had three. The lone goal scored by Beulke came in the 19th minute of the match, assisted by Katherine Jones, and was all the Jacks needed to secure the win. The goal was Beulke’s second goal of her career, while Jones had her second assist of the season.
Beulke had a total of three shots in the game. “[Beulke] got in a lot of great spots, not just on the goal, but throughout the game she was able to make some good decisions without the ball,” Jackrabbit soccer coach Brock Thompson said.
Along with Jones playing for the full duration of the game, Reagan Anderson, Kaycee Manding and Hayley Lindman did so as well. In addition, the Jacks did not have a yellow or red card for the duration of the game.
On defense, Jocelyn Tanner made two saves in the first half less than 10 minutes apart. The Jackrabbits faced a total of only three shots the entire game from USD’s Taylor Ravelo, Janaina Zanin and Ashby Johnston, which was the Coyotes’ second-lowest shot total this season. The Coyotes came close to scoring in the 79th minute of the match on a free kick from a foul by Avery LeBlanc. The kick by Zanin went wide left and the Jacks kept the Coyotes from attempting another shot for the last 11 minutes of play.
“We had a lot of the ball, we were able to create a number of chances,” Thompson said. “We recovered the ball really quickly when we lost it, and that helped us stay in the attacking phase of the game.”
The Jacks had dominant possession of the ball, having possessed it for over 60% of the game. They also outmatched USD in corner kicks 6-1.
USD goalkeeper Caroline Lewis had a total of five saves. These shots came from Eckerle, Avery Murdzek, Jadenn Carrillo, Taryn Hettich and Laney Murdzek.
Jones was selected by the conference office as the TicketSmarter Summit League Women’s Soccer Defensive Peak Performer of the Week. This is her second time claiming a weekly accolade from the conference office in her career.
The victory was the first for the Jacks in Vermillion since 2014, as well as their first against USD in three meetings. The Jacks improved to an 8-2 overall record on the season, rebounding from a loss to Creighton Friday, Sept. 15, and start their conference play at 1-0.
The Jackrabbits will face off against NDSU at home Thursday, Sept. 28 at 6 p.m. for their Hometown Heroes match as they attempt to extend their five-game win streak at home. The game can be watched on the Summit League Network through Midco Sports Plus.
