SIOUX FALLS – At the midway point of the conference season, University of Sioux Falls Soccer looks to continue their quest to earn a spot in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference tournament. The Cougars (3-5-2, 2-3-2 NSIC) will split their matches this weekend beginning with a home contest against Winona State (5-4-1, 4-2-1 NSIC) on Friday, Oct. 6 at 5 p.m. Beginning a three-game road swing, Sioux Falls heads to Fayette, Iowa for a 1 p.m. game against Upper Iowa (1-7-1, 1-5-1 NSIC) on Sunday, Oct. 8.  
 
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Cougars earn road point with draw at U-Mary
Leading for the majority of the match, USF seemed to be in line for picking up three road points with a win at University of Mary on Sunday after dropping a 4-0 decision at Minot State on Saturday. The Cougars jumped out to a 1-0 lead over when Lauren LaFavre connected on her fourth goal of the season, scoring off a long pass from Alexandria Scott. Despite a severe edge in shots (27-7 overall, 12-6 in shots on goal) favoring U-Mary, the Marauders never truly threatened USF goalkeeper Morgan Perkins, who finished with 11 saves. However, a corner kick in the final minutes of the game was the only chance UM needed, as they connected to tie the game at 1-1 with less than three minutes to play. Both teams fired two shots in the 20 minutes of overtime, but neither were able to break the tie.
 
Midseason NSIC standings update
As all Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference programs will play their eighth and ninth games of the 15-game conference season this weekend, the race for the top eight spots for a conference tournament bid look to be tight. After a three-way tie for first, the next nine teams are separated by just six points, including the Cougars in 11th with eight points from two wins and two ties. Of the Cougars' eight remaining games, six will be against teams currently above them on the NSIC table. This week, USF hosts Winona State, who has 13 points, and will travel to play Upper Iowa, who currently owns a four-point total. With four weeks of the regular season left, the Cougars are only three points behind eighth-place University of Mary.
 
Series Histories
                Winona State leads series 5-0-0
With two one-goal losses to Winona State, the USF Soccer program is looking for their first win over the Warriors since the two programs began competing in 2012. Winona State leads the series 5-0 and won the last two games by a 1-0 margin. Last season, USF held an edge in shots (11-9) and shots on goal (6-3), but a 17th-minute goal proved to be the difference for WSU. At home, USF is 0-2 against Winona State and have been outscored 4-1 in the two games.
 
                Upper Iowa leads series 5-0-0
Much like their series against Winona State, USF is not only looking for their first win against Upper Iowa, but they are looking to avenge a pair of one-goal losses from the past two seasons. Upper Iowa is an undefeated 5-0 against the Cougars in their five-year series history and they have with a 2-0 record when hosting USF. The last two years, USF dropped one-goal games, falling 1-0 in 2015 and 2-1 last year. In last season's match, Sioux Falls cut the UIU lead in half with a goal in the 70th minute but couldn't find an equalizer despite a 14-11 edge in total shots.
 
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 8-31-6 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.