MINOT, N.D.- The Minot State Beavers soccer team (9-3-1, 8-1-1 NSIC) will head home after a tough road battle to face the 25^th ranked Minnesota State Mankato Mavericks (10-2-1, 8-1-1 NSIC) Friday Oct. 22^nd at 5 p.m. The Beavers will then wrap up a brief homestand against the Concordia St. Paul Golden Bears (7-5-1, 6-3-1 NSIC) Sunday Oct. 24^th with a kickoff slated for noon. The Beavers will look to clinch a NSIC playoff berth with a win this weekend. 
 
Last Time Out: The Augustana Vikings collapsed the Beavers well-built dam they've been building on all season last Friday with a 4-0 loss in Sioux Falls. The Beavers outshot Auggie 13-10 while also outshooting them on goal 8-5. Maddie Kindred made three stops in net for the Beavers, while Beaver onslaught was contained by Viking goaltender Jillian Barkus. The Beavers were led by seniors Sofia Lewis and Mel van Walstijn who each had four shots, while Lewis and junior Chloe Allan each led the Beavers with three shots reaching the net. 
 
The offensive struggles to score continued into Sunday's matchup at the Wayne State Wildcats in Nebraska. The Wildcats tied the Beavers 0-0 in a Beaver heavily shot game. MSU finished with 17 shots while nine of them reached the net. MSU's stout defense popped back up only allowing WSC five shots with only one of them needing to be saved by Kindred. Lewis led the Beaver overload of shots with six total, while five reached the net. Wildcat goaltender Katherine Hageman made all nine stops in net. 
 
Thanks to back-to-back losses by the University of Mary Marauders, the Beavers only fell one spot to 7^th in the region, according to the United Soccer Coaches poll. The Beavers have a good chance to move up as they have yet to play the three other NSIC teams ranked in the top-10 of the central region, all of which will be here in Minot. 
 
Top Performer: This week's top performer is going to be Sofia Lewis. She was a spark for the Beavers offense leading the charge shooting 80 percent on target the whole weekend with eight shots out of ten reaching the net. 
 
Facing the Mavericks: It's no secret that when you think of NSIC women's soccer, Mankato will most likely be the first time to cross your mind (that is unless you are a fan of one of the 15 other teams in the NSIC.) They have a 151-19-20 record in NSIC play dating back to 1996. The Beavers haven't been able to crack the Mavs into giving them a few more losses, as Mankato currently owns an 8-1-3 record over MSU. The Beavers are currently on a four-game skid against the Mavs. The Beavers sole win over Mankato was a 2-1 final back on Oct. 22^nd, 2017, here in Minot, which was the first ever top 25 team MSU beat. 
 
Scouting Mankato: The Mavericks are currently on a seven-game winning streak after defeating the St. Cloud State Huskies and Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs at home last weekend by scores of 1-0 and 5-1 respectively. Their only loss in NSIC play came at the hands of Augustana in a 1-0 loss in Sioux Falls. 
 
The Mavericks have scored a total of 32 goals on the season while only allowing nine into their own net. They've taken 241 shots with 120 of them reaching the net for a solid 49 percent. Their defense is only allowing opponents just over 10 shots per game. Junior forward Jenny Vetter has scored 14 goals on the season, including a four-goal showing against the Peacocks of Upper Iowa. Sophomore forward Allie Williams, freshman forward Claire Cater, and junior midfielder Nadia Lowery all have pitched in three goals on the season as the next leading scorers. Vetter by far is leading the Mavs with 48 shots with 26 of them on goal. Goaltending has been split between freshman Clare Longueville and sophomore Mackenzie Rath. Longueville has started six matches while Rath has started seven. Longueville has allowed six goals past her while making 23 saves, whereas Rath has only allowed three goals all season, but making 30 saves. Vetter was named the NSIC Offensive Player of the Week for the second week in a row after scoring three goals and adding an assist. 
 
Facing the Golden Bears: The Golden Bears are on a one-game winning streak over MSU, which happens to be their only win over the Beavers since they started playing each other. MSU holds an 7-1 record over CSP. The sole win for Concordia in the last game was a 5-0 victory here in Minot. 
 
Scouting Concordia: CSP is coming off a weekend split losing to the UMD Bulldogs 2-1 but bouncing back and fending off the SCSU Huskies in a 2-1 win. 
 
The Golden Bears have netted themselves 33 goals on the season so far, while only giving up 18. They have shot 238 times with 116 of those shots making it on the net. Sophomore forward Katie Anderson leads the way for the Golden Bears with six goals on the season, followed closely by freshman forward Corynn Grabau and redshirt freshman defensemen Abby Kloiber each with four goals. Anderson also leads CSP with 72 shots total with 31 of them making it to the net. They have relied mostly on freshman Jessi Jordan for goalkeeping duties as she has started 10 matches but appeared in 12. She has allowed 13 goals while making 40 saves in net. 
 
Looking Ahead: The Beavers will be home this weekend, but will head back on the road for a home-and-home series with the Minnesota-Crookston Golden Eagles (1-11, 1-8 NSIC) in Crookston, Minnesota. They match up with the Golden Eagles on Friday Oct. 29^th with kickoff set for 3 p.m. They will then travel back to Minot for a home game on Sunday Oct. 31^st against the 11^th ranked and NSIC leading Bemidji State Beavers (11-0-2, 8-0-2 NSIC). The kickoff is set for noon, as well as the match will be senior day honoring the seniors on the MSU squad.