A lone goal early in the Summit League Women’s Soccer Championship quarterfinals was all South Dakota State needed to advance on Saturday night as SDSU defeated the Omaha Mavericks 1-0.
Zoe Wittkop kicked the first shot just 25 seconds into the match, but it was saved by University of Omaha goalkeeper Charlotte Huggard. The second shot by Jenna Maloy, just six minutes in, found the back of the net. The Mavericks attempted eight shots all game but were unable to convert, giving the Jacks the win at home.
Emma Brezenski led SDSU on offense with five shots and two on goal. Maloy and Hailee Christensen shot twice each, while Mia Bosch had one shot and the assist for the goal. Lauren Schmidt and Payten Ivins led the Mavericks with two shots each. Jacks goalkeeper Mallorie Benhart and Mavericks goalkeeper Charlotte Huggard made five saves each.
“The beginning of games are really important, obviously. This time of year, one play can change the course of the game,” head coach Brock Thompson said. “I thought the first 20 minutes of the game was the best soccer we played all year.”
SDSU advances to the semifinal round of the Championship against the second-seed University of Denver in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Pioneers finished 6-1-1 in conference play and defeated SDSU 1-0 in their last meeting on Oct. 9. They earned a bye into the semifinal round alongside top-seeded Oral Roberts.
Samantha Dreiling leads the Pioneers offense with 37 shots and 15 on goal. She has three goals this season, two of which came in their season opener against the Air Force Academy. Leading in goals is Brooke Ahern, who has four goals on 29 shots, and Emma Thielbahr who has 20 shots. Goalkeeper Alina Santos has started in all but one game this season, putting up a .833 save percentage, the second-best in the conference behind Benhart.
“I think at the end of the day, any time we’ve played Denver over the years, whether it’s during the season or in the tournament, we know it’s going to be a really high level, hotly contested game,” Thompson said. “It’s going to come down to a play or two here or there.”
Game time is scheduled for 1 p.m on Thursday, Nov. 6. The game will be streamed on the Summit League Network through Midco Sports Plus. The winner will advance to the championship game on Sunday to play the winner of No. 1 Oral Roberts or No. 5 Kansas City.
