Maverick soccer keeps cruising, 4-0 in NSIC play

The Minnesota State University-Mankato women’s soccer team won their third and fourth straight games over the weekend. In fact, the Lady Mavs have been playing exceptional defense and have not allowed a goal in their last four games. Let’s recap the action from September 22 and 24 against the University of Sioux Falls and Southwest Minnesota State University.

The first game of the weekend was against the Cougars from Sioux Falls. The Mavericks absolutely dominated this game from start to finish, as they got the scoring started in the eleventh minute of the game. Senior defender Lexi Pszanka found herself on the receiving end of an Alesha Duccini cross-field pass and headed the ball in beautifully to take the 1-0 lead.

The Mavericks kept the pedal to the metal in the first half, but to no avail. Sioux Falls went into the locker rooms feeling good about only being down 1-0 after being on the defensive for most of the half.

Minnesota State came out with the same offensive mindset in the second half. They controlled the tempo, pushed the ball and eventually scored again in the 62nd minute of the game. Junior Morgan Cottew notched the goal after fighting off a couple Cougar defenders.

The dagger in this game came from Jenny Hoerter just four minutes later. The senior midfielder extended the Maverick lead to 3-0, pretty much ending any USF chances of winning.

MNSU dominated the stat sheet in this game. Minnesota State got off 35 shots compared to USF’s four. The Mavericks even landed 16 shots on goal compared to the Cougar’s one.

The Lady Mavs traveled to Marshall on Sunday to take on the Mustangs from Southwest Minnesota State. This game was never close, as MNSU took the victory 5-0.

The first half was rather slow as the Mavericks went to the locker room up 1-0 on another Lexi Pszanka score.

The second half presented spectators with an offensive barrage from the Mavericks. Junior forward Lauren Kizlik, freshman forward Molly Sarafolean, junior midfielder Maddy Burandt and freshman forward Zoe Wright each put the ball in the net to move the score to 5-0 in the 84th minute.

The Mavericks outshot the Mustangs 35-5 and fired in 14 shots on goal compared to two by SMSU. MNSU also had ten corner kicks compared to SMSU’s zero, giving the Lady Mavs more chances to score throughout the match.

Sophomore goalkeeper Ryann Rydeen has been super impressive as of late as she has not allowed a goal in five matches. She made two saves on Sunday and is a weapon for this Minnesota State team.

Senior defender Lexii Pszanka got rewarded for her stellar play against the USF Cougars and SMSU Mustangs as she was named NSIC Offensive Player of the Week after scoring the first goal and game-winning goal in both matches for the Mavericks.

MNSU’s next game is against Concordia-St. Paul on September 27. The Golden Bears come to The Pitch boasting a 5-1-1 record and look to be the Mavericks’ toughest test in a while. Game time is 4:00 p.m.