SIOUX FALLS - As their final home stand of the season, University of Sioux Falls Soccer hosts a pair of NSIC North Division opponents at the USF Sports Complex this weekend. The Cougars (2-8-2, 2-6-1 NSIC) welcome Minnesota Duluth (5-4-3, 3-3-3 NSIC) for an 11 a.m. game on Saturday, Oct. 15. As their penultimate home game of the season, USF hosts St. Cloud State (6-4-2, 5-2-2 NSIC) on Sunday, Oct. 16 with kickoff set for 1 p.m.
How to follow this weekend's games
- Live video for both games this weekend is available through Stretch Internet at USFCougars.com/watch
- Live stats for both games this weekend are available HERE
Keeping up with the Cougars
Second leg
- Sioux Falls starts a three-game road trip next weekend, heading to northwest Minnesota for their final contests against NSIC North Division opponents
- The Cougars travel to Minnesota Crookston on Saturday, Oct. 22 then finish their weekend trip at Bemidji State on Sunday, Oct. 23
Series Histories
- Sioux Falls is searching for their first win against Minnesota Duluth since joining the NSIC in 2012
- USF is 0-4 against UMD, including a 0-2 mark at home
- The Cougars dropped a pair of one-goal games in 2013 and 2014, falling 2-1 and 1-0, respectively
- USF dropped a 3-0 decision at home last season
- Sioux Falls has a chance to even up the series against St. Cloud State with a win on Sunday
- The Cougars are 1-2-1 against the Huskies in their four matchups since joining the NSIC in 2012
- The teams played to a scoreless draw in 2013 and USF earned a 3-2 road win on the back of Jackie Montes's 88th minute game-winning goal
- At home, USF is 0-1-1 after losing last year's game 3-0 to SCSU
Scouting the competition: Minnesota Duluth
- Minnesota Duluth comes in with an even 3-3-3 record in NSIC play with a 5-4-3 overall record
- The Bulldogs have scored eight goals in nine conference games, ranking 13th in the NSIC
- UMD has allowed 13 goals in conference play, ranking 10th with a 1.34 goals against average
- Sky Finley and Kailey Beatt have each scored two goals for UMD this season, leading the team
- Three different goalkeepers have earned decisions for the Bulldogs with Sisley Ng earning four starts and seven appearances for a 1-4-1 record
- Greg Cane is in his 23rd season as head coach of the UMD soccer program, posting a 238-143-39 record
Scouting the competition: St. Cloud State
- St. Cloud State brings in a 6-4-2 record, including a 5-2-2 record in the NSIC, having dropped two of their last three games
- SCSU has scored 15 goals in nine games, an average of 1.67 per game, the fifth-highest mark in the NSIC
- The Huskies have given up 11 goals in their nine league games and their 1.16 goals against average ranks seventh in the league
- Maria Kass paces the SCSU offense with eight goals, all coming in NSIC play, and ranking in the top three in the league for goals, points, and total shots
- Julia Clifford has started all 12 games for SCSU in goal, earning a 6-4-2 record with a 1.60 goals against average
- Gretta Arvesen is in her third season as head coach of the SCSU soccer program, posting a 21-21-6 record thus far
Weiss's second goal of season moves her into top five in USF history
- Senior forward Lola Weiss's goal against Upper Iowa on Sunday was her second of the season and fifth in her career
- With five goals and 10 total points, Weiss ranks fourth in USF's Division II history in both categories
- Weiss's 56 shots in her career are third USF's record books and her 27 shots on goal are second
Perkins and Campbell picked as players to watch
- Sophomore goalkeeper Morgan Perkins and freshman forward Carley Campbell were chosen as USF's players to watch in the NSIC preseason release
- Perkins returns as in 2016 after starting all 17 games last season to finish with a 2-14-1 record
- A native of Liberty, Mo., Perkins made 127 saves and posted a 2.59 goals against average in 2015
- Campbell enters her freshman season from Monument, Colo. where she played at Palmer Ridge High School
- She led her high school squad to consecutive state playoff appearances while she scored 10 goals and added 10 assists in her junior and senior seasons
Sioux Falls returns five goal scorers from 2015
- All but one Cougar goal scorer returns for 2016, combining for eight of the team's nine goals last season
- Lola Weiss, Alexandria Scott and Chessa Novotny all found the back of the net twice in 2015
- Alexa D'Acunto and Brooke Jensen each scored once last season, notching the two gamewinners for the Cougars
- Weiss and Jensen ranked 1-2 on the team with 29 and 26 total shots, respectively, while Novotny led with 15 shots on goal
- Jensen and Jackie Montes both logged two assists and Montes was fourth on the team with 20 total shots, behind Novotny's 23.
Goosen continues building process in second season as head coach
- USF Soccer head coach Brittany Goosen enters her second season at the helm of the program
- She owns a 4-22-3 overall record at USF
- Goosen equaled the team's previous win total with a 2-14-1 record in her first season as a head coach
- She has again reached that same bench mark with two wins this season through eight games
- The Olathe, Kan. native held coaching positions at Missouri-Kansas City as an assistant in 2014 and at Emporia State as a graduate assistant from 2012-13
- Goosen played four years at the University of Nebraska, starting xas a center back from 2007-2011
