The women’s soccer team secured a 3-0 win over St. Thomas on Senior Day at Fishback Soccer Park, improving their overall record to 11-3.
It was Senior Day for seven seniors on Sunday, Oct. 15 at Fishback Soccer Park. The seniors on the team are Kayla Anderson, Jadenn Carrillo, Maya Hansen, Reagan Anderson, Katherine Jones, Jenna Hallen, Delaney Grant, Kaycee Manding, Hayley Lindaman and Jocelyn Tanner.
Senior day was an eye opener for many as the seniors realized they are nearing the end and those below them are next up. Taryn Hettick, a freshman, realizes the roles that need to be filled and the impact the seniors have made on the team.
“They make a big impact on everyone on the team, and I think that as us freshmen we know the big shoes, the foot print they are leaving behind. I think we are all willing to grow and step into those, so it’s exciting.”
The St. Thomas Tommies, led early in the game leading shots 5-2 in the first 29 minutes of the game before the Jacks were able to catch a groove.
Head coach Brock Thompson thought that the Tommies gave them some trouble but once again he is proud of how they responded.
“They made things really difficult for us. I’m proud of the way that we were able to get a little bit of footing in the game and start to play how we want to play. I thought everybody contributed at a high level.”
A series of SDSU passes from Ellie Gusman to Kaycee Manding, ending with the ball in Katelyn Beulke’s possession led to the Jacks’ first score of the game.
The rest of the first half was even between the two teams with the exception of the Jacks’ goal. At the end of the first half, the Tommies led the Jacks’ 6-4 on shots with multiple corner kicks from both teams.
Sprinting past the defense and taking a left-footed shot past the goalie, Avery Murdzek added to the Jacks’ lead in the 68th minute of the match. This would be Mudzek’s first goal of the game scoring again later on.
In the 75th minute of the game, Murdzek scored once again off of a pass from Gusman who received a pass from Taryn Hettick. This goal would allow for the Jacks to clear the bench and allow for reserves to have some playing time.
The Jacks would defeat the Tommies 3-0 which would improve their record to 11-3 overall and 4-1-0 in Summit League play.
SDSU is on the road for their next two matches as they head to face Oral Robert Thursday, Oct. 19, in Tulsa. They also will face Kansas City, closing out the regular season on Sunday, Oct. 22, before starting Summit League Tournament play.
The top two teams get to host the first two parts of the Summit League tournament and Jacks’ opponent ORU has a chance to be one of those teams. SDSU is hoping to secure one of those spots in these final two games.
Thompson gave a run down on what he believes needs to happen to finish the regular season strong and make a good run into the Summit League Tournament.
“Here’s kind of what it boils down to, there are so many things swirling around and I think the biggest thing we have to be able to do is just to be able to stay focused.”
He said the next step for the team is “training today” the team wants to take it one day at a time to reach their goals.
ORU currently has an overall record of 6-6-3 with a record of 3-3 in the conference. Both SDSU and Oral Roberts beat NDSU 1-0, but SDSU beat UND 3-1 while Oral Roberts lost to them 3-2.
That game will be one to win for the Jacks while finishing out the season right before their final regular season game against Kansas City.
Kansas City is sitting with an overall record of 2-6-7 and a conference record of 1-3-2. While SDSU beat both UND and NDSU, Kansas City had tied games against those two opponents.
These two games will be important in a strong regular season ending before beginning tournament play.
