SIOUX FALLS - Grabbing their second win of the season on the road, University of Sioux Falls Soccer returns to the USF Sports Complex to host a pair of conference matchups this weekend. The Cougars (2-5-1, 2-3 NSIC) welcome University of Mary (1-4-1, 1-3 NSIC) on Saturday, Oct. 1 at 11 a.m. then turn around to face No. 15 Minot State (5-1-0, 4-0-0 NSIC) on Sunday, Oct. 2, at 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 splits their weekend again, facing a pair of NSIC South Division opponents over the weekend
- The Cougars travel to Winona State for a match on Friday, Oct. 7 then return home for a contest against Upper Iowa on Sunday, Oct. 9
Series Histories
- The Cougars captured their first win over U-Mary last season, snapping a three-game losing skid against the Marauders
- Alexa D'Acunto netted the gamewinner in the 107th minute and Lola Weiss scored two goals to help USF to a 4-3 win over U-Mary last season
- At home, the Cougars are 1-1 and two of the four matchups have required two overtime periods to decide a winner
- Sioux Falls is still searching for their first win against Minot State, falling in all four matchups since both teams joined the NSIC in 2012
- Last season, the Cougars suffered a 2-0 loss at home with the second goal coming on a penalty kick
- USF is 0-2 at home in the series against Minot State
Scouting the competition: University of Mary
- University of Mary enters the weekend after securing their first win of the year last Sunday
- The Marauders own a 1-4-1 record, including a 1-3 mark in the NSIC
- In conference play, U-Mary has scored four goals on an average of 13.50 shots per game, both ranking 12th in the league
- The Marauders have allowed nine goals in four NSIC games, an average of 2.25 per game, which ranks 13th in the NSIC
- Michelle McGeary and Megan Sarson have scored two goals apiece for U-Mary, combining for four of their team's six goals
- Hannah Smith has started five and played in all six of U-Mary's games as goalkeeper, owning a 1-3-1 record with a 2.10 goals against average
- Sarah Cook is in her fifth season as head coach of the U-Mary women's soccer program and she owns a 24-32-11 record
Scouting the competition: No. 15 Minot State
- Minot State sits atop the NSIC table with a perfect 4-0-0 record in the NSIC and an overall record of 5-1-0, worthy of the No. 15 ranking in the latest NSCAA poll
- The Beavers average 2.00 goals per game in league play on 16.25 shots per game, ranking fifth and eighth, respectively, in the league
- Their defense has been the stingiest in the NSIC, allowing two goals in four games while posting the top goals against average at 0.50.
- Ninfa Ramirez leads the league in shots per game and is second with five goals in league play, eight overall
- Leila Torres and Erin Rafferty have each started three games in goal with Rafferty boasting a 3-1 record and Torres owning a 2-0 mark
- Jason Spain is in his seventh season at Minot State with a 73-40-12 record in his tenure
LaFavre scores first career goal, fueling USF's second conference win
- Showing early promise, freshman forward Lauren LaFavre broke through on Sunday, netting her first career goal
- The Burnsville, Minn. native's first career goal was also the gamewinner as her 38th-minute tally was the difference in USF's 1-0 win over Concordia-St. Paul
- On the season, LaFavre has eight shots on the season and has assisted on one goal
- The Cougars' attack was limited to four shots to CSP's 26, but the Cougars only needed one shot to record their second conference win
- With two league victories this season, USF matches their point total from 2014 at six points
- The Cougars recorded seven league points and finished with two wins and a tie in the 2013 campaign
- USF's seven points including nonconference games this season tie the 2013 team for most since they transitioned to NCAA Division II in 2012
Perkins stands tall in goal, grabs fourth career shutout
- After she posted her third career shutout, sophomore goalkeeper Morgan Perkins added her fourth clean sheet with the 1-0 win at Concordia-St. Paul
- In five conference games, Perkins has posted 33 saves, an average of 6.60, which ranks third in the NSIC
- Adding to her impressive standing in amount of saves, is that she has the highest save percentage among the top three goalies in average saves
- Her two shutouts this season ties her for first with three other keepers in the league
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 4-17-2 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
