Mavs soccer will take on Upper Iowa and Winona

The Minnesota State soccer team is looking to continue their three game win streak back at home this weekend in a couple of matches Friday against Upper Iowa, and Sunday against Winona State.

Coming into the weekend, the Mavericks are sitting in fourth in the NSIC standings with a 6-2-1 (4-1-1 NSIC) record and 13 points, while the Upper Iowa Peacocks sit middle of the pack at 5-3 (3-3-0 NSIC) and nine points.

UIU found wins against Southwest Minnesota State, Sioux Falls, and Minnesota-Duluth to start the conference games, but have dropped three straight since then to St. Cloud State, UMary, and Minot State to even out their record at .500.

In each of the games that the Peacocks lost, their opponent shut them out, while allowing a total of eight goals in that span.

Through eight games, Upper Iowa has scored just seven goals and allowed 10, making for a -3 goal differential.

As a team Upper Iowa has one of the worst save percentages in the NSIC with .722.

That’s good news for the Mavericks, since they sit comfortably in 3rd in the NSIC in shots with 157. Minnesota State also sits in 5th in save percentage at .833 between Clare Longueville, Mackenzie Rath, and Ava Blackney. The three goalkeepers have combined for 40 saves.

Since 2008, the Mavericks have faced off against the Peacocks 14 times, with the Mavericks ahead with an 11-1-2 record. MSU has taken the last nine straight wins, outscoring their opponent 30-3 in those nine games, and most recently a 6-0 win on the road in 2019.

The Mavericks have had a much closer series with the Winona State Warriors.

Since 1996, the two teams have clashed 30 times, with MSU barely having the edge with a 15-14-1 record. In recent history, though, it’s been all Mavericks.

The Mavericks have an 8-1-1 record in their last 10, outscoring the Warriors 21-4 in that span.

WSU is just behind the Peacocks in the NSIC standings with a 3-5-0 (2-4-0 NSIC) record and six points.

Winona State is coming off a two loss weekend on the road against Minot and UMary, losing 1-0 in both games.

Winona is tied with the Mavericks with a top five save percentage in the NSIC at .833, with 10 more saves at 50.

Jenny Vetter continues to lead the Mavericks with five goals and one assist for 11 points, adding 28 shots in nine games with 12 landing on goal.

Vetter is also 4th in the NSIC with three game winning goals.