South Dakota State took a draw and a win in their last two Summit League contests over North Dakota last Thursday and North Dakota State on Sunday.
North Dakota
The Fighting Hawks got on the board first off a shot by Jessica Machovec in minute 39. SDSU was able to tie it up off of a Lauren Eckerle goal in minute 72 before UND responded eight minutes later. Immediately after, a UND own goal evened the score at two apiece. Both teams made last-minute shots that were saved, leading to the draw at 2-2.
Emma Brezenski led the Jacks with five shots and two on goal. Eckerle, playing the complete match, put up three shots along with an on-goal shot, a goal and an assist. Jenna Maloy hit her three shots on goal while earning an assist. Mallorie Benhart made seven saves, her second highest total of the season.
Machovec for UND led the Fighting Hawks in shots with five and four on goal. Charlie Basinet led the team’s starters with three shots and one on goal. Three other players spilt UND’s remaining shot total. Grace Miller made five saves.
“It was hard for us at times,” said head coach Brock Thompson. “Goals change games, and their early goal certainly did that a little bit. I loved the fight that we had in the second half.”
North Dakota State
Maloy opened the scoring in minute 32. The Bison put up three shots in an attempt to tie, but the Jacks got another one in the back of the net in minute 80 off Maloy’s foot. The 2-0 win improves the Jacks’ conference record to 2-0-1, placing behind Oral Roberts and Denver.
The game marked Maloy’s first multi-goal game of her career. She matched her career high shot total with four and her shots on goal also matched her career best at three.
Hailee Christensen led SDSU in shots with five and two on goal. Ellie Gusman, Eckerle and Brezenski shot two a piece while Taylor Thomas and Brianna Finnegan each shot once.
Kendall Stadden, Morgan Russmann and Gabrielle Garrett were the only Bison players to have a shot. Payton Mulberry made a season-high seven saves.
“I thought maybe that game is one of the better ones we’ve played over the past few weeks overall,” said Thompson.
Denver
SDSU hits the road for a visit to Denver. The Pioneers are 3-1 in conference play and 6-4-3 overall.
With 25 this season, Samantha Dreiling is the team leader in shots. Dreiling has two goals this season along with two assists. Leading in goals is Emma Thielbahr with four, who has 17 shots with seven on goal and two assists. Goalkeeper Alina Santos has made the third-most saves in the conference this year, only allowing one goal a game.
The game is Thursday at 8 p.m. and can be watched on the Summit League Network through Midco Sports Plus.
Omaha
SDSU returns home one more time in the regular season to host Omaha. The Mavericks are 2-1-1 in conference play and 5-4-4 overall.
Payten Ivins leads the team in goals with four, shots with 31, and shots on goal with 16. She averages 1.14 shots on goal per game. Charley Kort and Emma Hampton each have three goals this season. Kort has the second most shots on the team with 22 and shots on goal with 14, while Hampton has just five shots on goal.
Game time is Sunday at 1 p.m. and can be watched on the Summit League Network through Midco Sports Plus.
