No. 6 Bemidji State to battle U Mary and Minot State in NSIC play
The No. 6 Bemidji State University soccer team has a split weekend of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play, Oct. 29-31. The Beavers will be at Chet Anderson Stadium to host the University of Mary in a 3 p.m. matchup Friday and will travel to Minot, N.D. Sunday to face Minot State University in a 12 p.m. tilt.
A weekend sweep of opponents would extend the Beavers’ unbeaten streak to 20 matches and would equal a program record set from Nov. 10, 2017, to Nov. 11, 2018, and included 18 victories (17-0-3).
The Beavers are 13-0-2 overall and own a 10-0-2 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference record to sit atop the league standings. BSU is led by Sara Wendt, who is tied for sixth in the country in goal scoring with a new career-best 15, which includes a nation’s-best six game-winning goals, and an assist. Allyson Smith is second on the team with 15 points on four goals and seven assists, while she has accounted for a pair of game-winners. Newcomer Mason Schilling has netted nine points (3g-3a) in BSU’s last three games to sit third on the team in scoring with 12 points (4g-4a). Alyssa Stumbaugh has played the majority of the time (1023:12) and is 11-0-1 with a 0.62 goals allowed average and .844 save percentage with five shutouts. She opens the weekend riding a 138:54 shutout streak.
The Beavers are third in the NSIC averaging 2.4 goals per game, while allowing 0.73 goals per game to rank second in the league.
Bemidji State enters the weekend owning a 10-9-2 record versus UMary dating back to the first meeting Sept. 25, 2002, while the is 6-3-1 versus the Marauders when playing at Chet Anderson Stadium. Unbeaten in the last eight (7-0-1), BSU has won five of the last six meetings between the teams at The Chet dating back to Oct. 10, 2010. The last time the teams met (10/13/19), BSU needed a goal by Alanna Mattson in the 106th minute of play to earn a 1-0 victory over the Marauders. Stumbaugh made three saves in the victory to earn the first shutout of her collegiate career.
U Mary enters the weekend at 8-4-3 overall and 7-3-2 in NSIC play to rank fifth in the league standings. The Marauders have 20 goals in 15 matches for a 1.33 goals per game average, while they have surrendered 1.00 goal per match to rank among the top five teams in the NSIC in both statistical categories. Hannah Richter leads the team in scoring with 13 points in four goals and a team-high five assists, while Kendra Park has a team-best five goals. Madisyn Waltman has been between the pipes for all but 90 minutes of the 2021 season. She is 8-3-3 on the season with a 0.81 goals-against average and .810 save percentage and is ninth in the NSIC with 49 saves.
The BSU-Minot State series got its start in 2010. BSU is 9-5-0 in the series, which includes a 2-4-0 mark in Minot, N.D. BSU will open the weekend having defeated MSU the last five times the teams have met. Minot State was one of the three games that BSU played during the COVID-abbreviated 2020 season. The teams met in Moorhead, Minn. on a snowy April 18th afternoon. Wendt and Erin Becker each scored a goal, while Stumbaugh combined with Georgiana Harber to post the shutout.
Minot State comes into the weekend without a win in their last four matches (0-2-2), while it owns 9-4-2 record overall and is 8-2-2 in NSIC play to hold down the fourth spot in the standings. MSU will travel to the University of Minnesota Crookston Friday before hosting BSU. The Beavers have averaged 1.13 goals per match this season, but have not scored in their last four matches. Sofia Lewis has a team-best eight goals, which includes five game-winners, this season and leads the team with 17 points. Chloe Allan is second in both categories with six goals and 12 points, while Sofia Galvez has a team-best three assists. Maddie Kindred is the only MSU goalkeeper to make an appearance this season. She has a.857 save percentage and a .912 goals allowed average. Her 96 saves rank second in the NISC.