The South Dakota State women’s soccer team is headed back to the conference championship game.

The Jackrabbits claimed a spot in Sunday’s title game with a 1-0 win over the second-seeded Denver Pioneers on Thursday in the first Summit League semifinal match.

“This time of the year, when you’re playing meaningful games in late October and early November, you know it’s going to be a battle,” head coach Brock Thompson said in an interview with The Summit League. “It’s going to be a soccer game that’s going to come down to a play or two.”

Thompson has some experience playing this late into the season. This is SDSU’s third straight year in the League’s championship game, and the 10th overall in the Division I era.

In this case, it was one play that was the difference.

Lauren Walter intercepted a clearance pass and hit a strike to the top right corner from just outside the box to give the Jacks the advantage in the 72nd minute. The score was Walter’s fifth goal of the year. She has scored three goals in the last four games.

She also did it on her birthday.

“It’s unreal,” the graduate student from Centennial, Colo., said. “I was just really hoping to win today. I didn’t think I was going to score, but I’ll take it. It’s an unreal feeling.”

MaKynlie Cade led the way for SDSU with three shots, while Mia Bosch and Emma Brezenski followed behind with two. The three each registered a shot on goal as well. As a team, the Jackrabbits had nine shots.

For DU, Samantha Dreling and Lily O’Grady each had four shots, and O’Grady had two shots on goal, as the Pioneers had the edge in shots with 12.

Mallorie Benhart saved three balls in the net for the Yellow and Blue on the way to her ninth shutout of the season, while Denver’s Alina Santos had two saves while giving up one goal.

UP NEXT

SDSU will face the top-seeded host Oral Roberts Golden Eagles in the championship game. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. in Tulsa and can be seen on the Summit League Network.