Ainsley McKibben registered 12 points with seven goals and five assists during the regular season for the Majettes. Minot High plays West Fargo Sheyenne in the state tournament quarterfinals on Thursday, May 28, at 6:45 p.m. at Sanford Sports Complex in Bismarck. Mike Kraft/MDN

It doesn’t matter to the Minot High girls soccer team that it won’t be entering the state tournament as the West Region’s No. 1 seed by virtue of a WDA title like it has the previous five years, all of which ended with the Majettes in the championship match.

The Majettes weren’t the No. 1 seed out of the West Region when they began their streak of six straight state championship game appearances in 2019, capturing their first of three titles during that span.

Defending state champion Mandan wasn’t the top seed last year when they bumped Minot High in the championship either. The path to a seventh consecutive state tournament championship appearance and a fourth title will look different from the bracket’s perspective for the Majettes, but they are still every bit of a contender as they have been in years prior.

“You have to beat three good teams to get to your ultimate goal, so that’s what we’re going to look at,” Minot High coach Matt Pfau said. “Last year, we got knocked off by Mandan in the championship and they were the No. 2 out of the West. We’ve talked to the girls about that, where you don’t have to be the No. 1 seed to win the state tournament. They’re all aware of it.”

Minot High (12-2-1 overall, 12-2-1 WDA) opens its state tournament run against West Fargo Sheyenne – the No. 3 seed from the East Region – on Thursday, May 28, at 6:45 p.m. at Sanford Sports Complex in Bismarck . The Mustangs (13-3-2 overall, 10-2-2 EDC) are making their seventh trip to the state tournament and first since 2023. Meanwhile, this is Minot High’s 18th appearance and 12th in a row.

The Mustangs sport a stingy defense, pitching nine shutouts and allowing less than a goal per game (0.88). They didn’t allow a goal against West Region opponents this season, outscoring Bismarck High and Bismarck Legacy 7-0. Offensively, Sheyenne averaged 3.65 goals per game during the regular season, netting four or more goals in eight matches, led by 2025 all-EDC midfielder Tenley McMenamy. The Mustangs twice tallied nine goals.

“I know they’re good,” Pfau said. “I’ve been watching them on film all weekend. They are a really athletic team with a couple really talented forwards. Tenley McMenamy and Kaylie Gaffney both look like talented forwards for them that we’re definitely going to have to pay attention to on Thursday.”

Sheyenne’s best finish at state was a runner-up showing in 2018, losing 4-1 to Fargo Davies. Appearances in the championship match have been a common landing spot for the Majettes over the years, going 3-3 in those games since 2019. They lost in their first appearance, 2-1, to Shanley/Oak Grove before winning three in row – two against Fargo Davies and one against Fargo Shanley. Minot High has had to settle for second place each of the past two seasons.

While Minot High’s roster yields fewer seniors than it has in previous years with just three – Camdyn Varty, Bianca Cofell and Jayva McKibben – they still have more experience playing in the biggest of competitions than any other senior class at the state tournament. In the last six years, no team other than Minot High has appeared in more than two championship matches.

“They’ve all been in multiple state tournaments,” Pfau said. “This will be Camdyn’s sixth for us and she’s played a lot of minutes and this will be her fifth one she’s played a lot of minutes in, so we’ll look to those three seniors to guide the kids through this and understand that all we’re worried about now is Thursday. If you don’t win that one, you don’t get to your ultimate goal, so everything is about Thursday.”

McKibben finished the regular season with 16 points on eight goals and eight assists. Kaylee Jackson led the team in scoring with 19 points. She netted a team-high 14 goals to go along with five assists. Jackson is coming off a four-goal performance against Williston in which the Majettes put up a season-best 11 goals. The sophomore midfielder has nine goals in her last five matches.

“She’s a quiet kid, but she’s got so much speed and she just causes problems for teams when you have that much speed,” Pfau said. “Whether we play her on the wing or up top, we’re going to use that speed, be composed. That’s her biggest thing is understanding she’s going to get opportunities and to be composed when she gets in the box and take advantage of those opportunities.”

The Majettes finished second in the conference in scoring with 54 total goals in 15 matches for an average of 3.6 goals per contest. They netted five or more goals in five matches.

When looking at this year’s tournament field, Pfau said he believes it’s the deepest in recent memory. Six of the eight teams accumulated at least 10 wins, five had two or fewer loses and the top seeds in each region went unbeaten.

“The biggest thing this year is if you look at all eight teams, I think all eight teams can win it this year,” Pfau said. “In the past few years, you could pick say three teams and one of those three are going to win, but this year I think all eight teams have a legitimate shot to win this year and we’re one of them. It’s going to be about who can put three games together without making mistakes and understanding their assignments.”

The Majettes have experienced their fair share of close contests this season, which they expect to see once again at the state tournament. They played in five one-goal games this season, winning three. Minot High sported the best defense in the WDA, allowing just eight goals and recording nine shutouts. Goalkeeper Kynsli Gillmore finished the regular season with 56 saves.

“They’re going to be close games and you know when you get down to the last 10 minutes what you’re doing offensively and what you’re doing defensively if you’re up a goal or down a goal,” Pfau said. “We’ve had a lot of those situations this year. The kids should know what needs to happen when we get in those situations this weekend.”