Minnesota State notches two shutouts
Minnesota State’s soccer team, led by goalkeeper Alexa Rabune and forward Morgan Cottew, posted two shutout victories over Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) opponents over this past weekend. They opened up the weekend with a home game vs. Wayne State and followed that up with an away game at Augustana.
The Mavericks are now sitting with a 7-3-1 record having won six out of their last seven games with shut out victories. The weekend’s victories puts the women at 6-2 in the NSIC and fourth place overall in the conference standings.
“We really have been focusing on taking one game at a time and just giving everything we can into the game at hand and I think that is what we did this past weekend and will continue to do throughout the rest of the season,” Rabune said.
Opening up the weekend last Friday at home versus Wayne State, the Mavericks worked out a 4-0 win. The women got off to a very quick start and scored three of their four goals in the first half of play.
Alesha Duccini got things started seven minutes into the game when she nailed a goal off an assist from Abby Hausken.
Cottew got her first points of the weekend on an unassisted goal just over 20 minutes in. Cottew went on to contribute two assists on the final two goals of the game.
Cottew’s first assist went to Kiana Nickel just four minutes after the previous goal. The game went into the half with the Mavericks holding onto a dominating lead of 3-0.
At the 60-minute mark, MSU struck again when Cottew assisted Julia Mixon for the team’s fourth and final goal of the game.
Rabune got the win with two saves in the game. Minnesota State outshot Wayne State on goal, 8-2.
The Mavericks then hit the road on Sunday to play at Augustana. The Mavericks once again notched a 4-0 win.
They did not quite get off to the quick start that they did against Wayne State, but the women still showed a quickness to getting to the goal. At exactly 24 minutes, Cottew got the first goal of the game off assists from Nickel and Duccini. Just over eleven minutes later, Cottew would make her presence felt once again off another assist from Duccini which gave the Mavericks a 2-0 lead as they headed into half-time.
As the second half began, roles would be reversed a bit and Minnesota State’s third goal came from Duccini off of an assist from Cottew. Just over a minute later, Nickel scored the fourth goal that came unassisted.
Rabune got the shutout win with three saves. It also marks her fourth shutout of the season. Minnesota State has started three goalies in the season and between the three they have combined for seven shutouts.
“I’ve learned a lot from playing and practicing with them. We all really work hard during practices keeping it super fun and competitive,” Rabune said on learning from fellow goalkeeper teammates Ryann Rydeen and Taylor Livermore.
Minnesota State had 12 shots on goal to Augustana’s three.
Cottew led the team in points with nine from her three goals and three assists.
Duccini has also been making her presence felt thus far and is tied for second with Nickel for most goals this year with six on the team. Her 16 points on the year has in her third place, behind only Seniors Nickel and Cottew.
“I think we have found our footing in the season. We just keep taking it day-by-day and treat the next game like it’s the biggest one yet,” said Rabune.
The Mavericks will continue NSIC action as they prepare for a big week that will see them play three games against conference opponents on the road. They will play Concordia-St. Paul on Wednesday in St. Paul; Minnesota State-Moorhead on Saturday in Moorhead and Northern State on Sunday in Aberdeen, S.D.