Mavericks tie with UWP, play two this weekend

Minnesota State hit the road to open up the regular season at UW-Parkside. The game ended in a draw with neither team being able to put any points on the board throughout regulation and two overtime periods.

The Mavericks got off to a slow start in the first half, as they tried to find some rhythm and momentum on offense. The women were only able to get off one shot compared to UW-Parkside’s three.

It was not until the second half of action that MNSU started to pick up some steam. UWP got off another three shots but MNSU was able to fire back eight shots of their own. In the two overtime periods things remained even with UWP outshooting MSU 4-3.

When the final whistle blew, MNSU had the edge and out shot UWP 12-11 with five of Minnesota State’s shots being on goal.

Playing goalie for the Mavericks was redshirt freshman Alexa Rabune who played in her first full game, including regulation and overtime. Rabune made six saves in her 110 minutes on the field while UWP’s goalie finished with five saves.

Looking forward to this weekend, the Mavericks will play their first regular season games at home. First up will be the Ferris State Bulldogs on Friday. These two teams will meet up for the first time since September 3rd, 2010 where Minnesota State walked away with a 1-0 victory.

Ferris State is entering the weekend with a 1-1 record after opening the year losing to Lewis 0-3 and bouncing back with a 4-0 win over St. Joseph’s a few days later. They finished their 2015 campaign with a 14-5-1 record.

Rachel Fouts is currently leading Ferris State with points with four and has two goals off of nine shots. The Bulldogs also played three different women at goalie in their first two games including Alison Chesterfield, Grace Kraft, and Nyla Peterkin. Freshman Grace Kraft played all 90 minutes of their 4-0 win and was credited with the shutout victory. She made seven saves in what was her very first start of her collegiate career.

On Sunday the Mavs will play their second game of the weekend, this time against the Grand Valley State Lakers. Grand Valley’s squad are sitting on a 1-0-1 record for 2016 season after coming off a 2015 season that saw them go an incredible 23-1-1.

By the time this game starts it will be nearly a year since Minnesota State and Grand Valley have met on the field, with the last match happening on September 13th, 2015 when Grand Valley mustarded out the 2-1 win. Last year Clare Carlson and Marti Corby scored the goals that defeated Minnesota State and both ladies will be back this year to attempt repeating.

Grand Valley’s Jayma Martin is currently topping the team with 3 points including an assist and a goal while Corby slightly trails her with two points and one goal. Goalie Jennifer Steinaway has started both of Grand Valley’s games that gives her a 1-0-1 record in which she has made eight saves and has allowed only one goal.

Minnesota State will kick things off at 4:30 p.m. Friday, at the Pitch against Ferris State and at 12:00 p.m. Sunday versus Grand Valley.