The Minot State soccer team (9-2, 8-0 NSIC) will look to stay undefeated in conference action. In order to do so, it has to go through one of the bigger hurdles it has faced in conference action in the Augustana Vikings (6-3-2, 5-1-2 NSIC) Friday Oct. 15 at 4 p.m. in Sioux Falls. They wrap up the weekend with a stop in Nebraska against the Wayne State Wildcats (3-6-2, 3-4-1 NSIC) Sunday Oct. 17 at noon. A weekend sweep of Augustana and Wayne State would ensure a new record of consecutive games won for the Beavers soccer program at 11, breaking the old record of 10 games in a row. 

Last Time Out

The Beavers took the homecoming weekend sweep to remain undefeated in NSIC action. They won the first game of the weekend over the Northern State Wolves 2-0 Friday night. The Sofia connection sparked the Beaver offense in the first half as Sofia Lewis netted the first goal of the game only four minutes in, assisted by Sofia Galvez. The Beavers would go into halftime with the 1-0 lead. Chloe Allan put the Wolves to bed with a goal in the 73rd minute, thanks to a great setup by Lewis. Maddie Kindred faced 14 shots in net for the Beavers, while only having to stop six. The Beavers shot 17 times, eight of which reached the net in some capacity. 

The homecoming conclusion Sunday had the Beavers holding their breath. The winless Dragons of Minnesota State Moorhead came in with stout defensive play. A Dragons penalty in the goalkeeper’s box set up a Beaver penalty kick by University of North Dakota transfer Daisy de Boer. She converted, hitting the back of the net in the 81st minute to break the tie, marking de Boer’s first career Minot State goal. The lone goal would be the deciding factor in the 1-0 win for the Beavers to stay undefeated in conference play. The Dragon defense was very stout against the determined Beaver offense, as the Minot State shot 30 times toward the net, 16 of which made it on net. To combat the Dragon defense, the Beaver defense did not allow the Dragons many offensive chances, as the Dragons were able to muster just one shot the entire game.

Minot State moved up one spot in the United Soccer Coaches central poll with the win. The Beavers moved up to No. 6 in the region thanks to a loss by the Ouachita Baptist Tigers, who were directly ahead of the Beavers. Other NSIC programs ranked in the central region poll are the Bemidji State Beavers (10-0-1 overall) at No. 2, Minnesota State-Mankato Mavericks (8-2-1 overall) at No. 4, and the University of Mary Marauders (7-1-3 overall) at No. 7. The Beavers will still play all three opponents this season. 

Top Performer

The honors go to the Beavers defense. Minot State has held opponents to seven goals on the season in 11 games this year, good for a 0.64 goals per game. The Beavers have posted six shutouts so far, thanks to phenomenal work by Kindred in net, including four straight. Redshirt freshman Jordan Tenpas and true freshman Shaye Taylor have been anchors for the Minot State defense and look to continue to grow in their positions.