SIOUX FALLS – Starting their final push for the conference tournament, University of Sioux Falls Soccer heads to Minnesota for their final weekend road trip of the season. The Cougars (4-6-2, 3-4-2 NSIC) begin two critical matches with a 10 a.m. kickoff at St. Cloud State (5-7-0, 3-6-0 NSIC) on Saturday, Oct. 14 then wrap up the road trip with a 1 p.m. kickoff at Minnesota Duluth (7-4-1, 4-4-1 NSIC) on Sunday, Oct. 15.
 
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Second-half scoring flurry leads USF to first win over Winona State; Cougars earn three points over the weekend
In a span of two minutes, Sioux Falls erased a halftime deficit and took a lead they held to defeat Winona State, 3-1, last Friday for the program's first victory over the perennial NSIC power. After conceding a goal in the first half, Becca Schmitz connected on the equalizing goal, her first career tally, just three minutes into the second half. Less than two minutes after Schmitz scored, Morgan Lovato used a Schmitz pass to set up her game-winning goal. Padding their lead, Lovato scored again, connecting from distance for her fourth goal of the season and first career multi-goal game. Morgan Perkins made eight saves on the day to secure her fourth win of the season. Finishing the weekend, USF surrendered an early goal and wasn't able to match in a 1-0 loss at Upper Iowa. Perkins kept the Cougars in the game with 10 saves and Lovato led the USF attack with three shots, two on goal.
 
 
Cougars in ninth on NSIC table, two points out of conference tourney field
With six matches remaining for the Cougars and all NSIC soccer programs this season, the race for the top eight spots and a place in the NSIC Tournament are beginning to take shape. With 11 points off three victories and two draws (three points are awarded for a win and one for a draw), USF is currently ninth, two spots behind this Sunday's opponent, Minnesota Duluth. Just ahead of UMD are Concordia-St. Paul and Winona State with 16 points. On the heels of the Cougars are Northern State and Upper Iowa, each with 10 points, while USF's Saturday opponent, St. Cloud State, has nine points. Of the Cougars' remaining six opponents, three are above them in the standings and three are currently below.
 
Series Histories
                St. Cloud State – series tied 2-2-1
In the sixth matchup between the two programs, USF and St. Cloud State are both looking to take the series lead with Saturday's match. The Cougars tied the series at 2-2-1 with a 1-0 victory last season while St. Cloud State owns the aggregate lead with a 7-4 edge in total goals scored over the previous five games. The Cougars are 1-1 on the road against St. Cloud State with the 2014 victory coming on the foot of Jackie Montes's 88th minute winner. Most recently, Lauren LaFavre set up Lola Weiss for last year's game-winning goal in the third minute as USF held on to defeat SCSU 1-0.
 
                Minnesota Duluth – UMD leads 5-0
After their second one-goal loss in the last three years, the Cougars are looking to break through against Minnesota Duluth this weekend. Minnesota Duluth owns a 5-0 lead in the series, which began when the Cougars joined the NSIC in 2012. Through two thirds of last season's contest the game was scoreless, but UMD scored despite USF holding a 17-13 edge in total shots and the Cougars were handed their second 1-0 loss to the Bulldogs in a span of three years. This is the third matchup between the teams that will be hosted by UMD and the Bulldogs are 2-0 on their home turf.
 
LaFavre and Lovato leading Cougar offense
Adding an assist with the game-tying goal against Winona State, Lauren LaFavre tied Ciara Howerton for the USF program record for career points in their NCAA Division II era (complete data for USF's soccer history is not available beyond their D2 membership). A Bursnville, Minn. native, LaFavre has four goals and two assists this season for a team-high 10 points, which brings her career total to 17 points after she scored three times and assisted on one more goal in her freshman season. Another underclassmen, freshman Morgan Lovato has tied LaFavre for the team lead in goals this season after scoring twice against Winona State. LaFavre (10) and Lovato (9) are first and second, respectively, in USF's record books for points in a season while Lovato's nine points from four goals and an assist average to 0.75 per game and is currently the USF D2 record with LaFavre second at 0.61 points per game.
 
USF picked 13th in NSIC preseason poll
Coming off a year in which the Cougars recorded the most wins and points since their move to NCAA Division II, USF Soccer was picked to finish a program-best 13th in the NSIC preseason coaches' poll. The Cougars finished 14th in the final 2016 standings with a 3-10-2 record in NSIC play. Of the Cougars' 10 conference losses last season, eight were by a one-goal difference. The conference coaches took notice of USF Soccer's improvement under third-year head coach Brittany Domino and USF was slated 13th in the NSIC preseason coaches' poll, the highest in the poll since they joined the league in 2012. The Cougars collected 51 points in the poll while Minnesota State was the favorite with 11 first-place votes and USF's crosstown rival Augustana picked up the remaining five first-place nods to help them to second place.
 
Leader of the pride
In her third season at the helm of University of Sioux Falls Soccer, Brittany Domino looks to continue the growth of her program. Despite the 9-32-6 record in three seasons, Domino has turned the Cougars around with eight one-goal losses in 2016 and cutting her team's goals allowed by more than 30 in two years. A four-year starter for University of Nebraska, Domino is assisted by Kyle Halfpop and Gabe Wortman.