Mavs soccer captures win over UW-Parkside
The 10th overall-ranked Minnesota state soccer team kicked off their season in a victorious way, defeating UW-Parkside 2-0. The Mavericks move to 1-0 on the young season.
All was quiet during the first half of play, as each team failed to score. That same storyline went into 72 minutes of play, when the Mavericks finally struck first. The storyline became even better when junior Lauren Kizlik (who suffered a season-ending injury last season against the same team) dribbled a ball by the UWP defense and goaltender to put Minnesota State up 1-0 at the 72:41 mark of the match.
“It feels really good, especially [from the injury] happening last year,” Kizlik said after the game. “It’s awesome to start the season 1-0.”
The Mavericks would add another goal just under six minutes later, when junior Julia Zach scored her first goal in almost two years to put the Mavericks up 2-0. For the lack of goals scored in the game, Minnesota State had 27 total shots and 14 of them were on goal, compared to Wisconsin-Parkside’s six total shots and two of them being on goal. MNSU was able to keep the pressure up on offense, while holding things down on defense.
Kizlik was the one to watch in this one, as she had eight shots with four of them being on goal. Zach had four shots with two on goal, and senior Jenny Hoerter tallied two shots with one being on goal. Hoerter also added an assist on Kizlik’s score.
Sophomore Ryann Rydeen recorded the shutout in goal, making it her seventh-career as a Maverick.
“I have to hand it to my defense,” Rydeen said. “They create so much chaos on the field, making my job easier. Hopefully we can keep the pace going and keep the wins coming.”
Even with the lack of experience and a youthful team, the Mavericks will find out in the next coming weeks where they are at as a club. Starting this upcoming weekend for the Mavs, they will be tested.
Minnesota State will travel to Michigan to take on Ferris State and 14th-ranked Grand Valley State. The Bulldogs (1-1) will be on Friday at 3:00 p.m. and the Lakers will be on Sunday at 11:00 a.m. The Mavericks are 3-0-0 all-time against Ferris State, with their latest victory coming last season at The Pitch by a 2-0 score. In the other matchup, the Lakers are 4-1-3 all-time against MNSU. The latest outcome was a lost at The Pitch for the Mavs by a final of 4-1.
