Sioux Falls - Beginning the season with a challenging away match, the University of Sioux Falls Soccer squad starts the 2018 season traveling to face Northern Intercollegiate Sun Conference favorite and No. 20 Minnesota State in Mankato in a nonconference matchup on Thursday, August 30 at 3 p.m. in Mankato, Minn.
 
Minnesota State
Led by head coach Brian Bahl, the Minnesota State women's soccer team posted an impressive record of 17-2-3 overall and 13-1-1 in the conference in the 2017 season. The Mavericks were rated first in the NSIC preseason poll and No.20 in the nation. Seniors Morgan Cottew and Abby Hausken were each named NSIC players to watch for the 2018 season. Cottew is currently in ninth place in program history for goals (30) and also is tenth in career points (75). Hausken was named to the NSIC All-Conference Second Team last season.
 
Minnesota State looks to continue their offensive dominance from last year into the 2018 year. Last season Minnesota State had an impressive 54 goals on 552 shots, opposed to their opponents recording 9 goals on 163 shots. The Mavericks averaged 2.36 goals per game while their opponents averaged 0.39 goals per game.
 
After the nonconference contest at MSU, the Cougars will return home to host their season home opener against Black Hills State at 2 p.m. on Monday Sept. 3.
 
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USF Soccer Picked 12^th in NSIC Preseason Coaches Poll
The University of Sioux Falls Soccer Team, which is coming off its best season at NCAA DII, has been picked to finish in a tie for 12th in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC), according to the 2018 NSIC Preseason Coaches Poll, which was released August 9. USF had a program-DII-best 5-9-4 overall mark, and was 4-7-4 for 10th in the league in 2017. In the preseason poll, USF received 69 points and sits tied with Wayne State for 12th in the poll.
 
LaFavre looking to ignite offense, returns as an NSIC player to watch
Junior Lauren LaFavre returns this season after being named to the third team on the All-NSIC squad after scoring a program-season-best five goals with 12 total points. She was one of three Cougars to make the 2017 All-NSIC team. LaFavre, a junior midfielder/forward from Burnsville, Minn., was named Academic All-NSIC and owns four school records. She recorded the best offensive season for a USF player in the DII era with 43 shots, 17 shots on goal, five goals, and two assists for 12 points. She has seven career goals which ranks first all-time at USF with her three game-winning goals, also a USF DII school mark. LaFavre was voted as an NSIC "Player to Watch" for the 2018 season.
 
Philippi returns as a two-way force in the midfield
USF returns junior midfielder McKayla Philippi, after she earned honorable mention All-NSIC honors. In 2017, Philippi appeared in 18 games, making 17 starts while logging a total of 1,567 minutes. Seventeen times she played in more than 60 minutes in a match, totaled 14 contests with at least 80 minutes played and nine of 90 minutes or more. Philippi twice logged 110 minutes, including vs. MSU Moorhead on Sept. 16 and Wayne State on Oct. 29. Last season Philippi scored her first career goal, a game-winning tally against Southwest Minnesota State and also assisted on the overtime winner against Northern State to finish the season with three points. She made an offensive jump in her sophomore season, recording 16 shots, including eight on goal, which both ranked in the top-five for USF last season
 
USF returns a solid core of veterans
Along with LaFavre and Philippi, USF will be aided by the return of senior leaders Jackie Montes, Kori Fink, Chessa Novotny, and Emma Trittin. Midfielder Jackie Montes recorded one goal, two assists, and four points on the 2017 season for USF, as well as appearing in five games and totaling 321 minutes before receiving a medical redshirt. Defender Kori Fink appeared in 18 games in the 2017 season totaling 866 minutes. She recorded one assist and one point during the season and looks to continue to improve the team's overall defense. As a junior in 2017, Forward Chessa Novotny was named to the Academic All-NSIC team for a second straight year. She appeared in 18 games and totaled 1,003 minutes. During the season, Novotny recorded one goal on 17 shots and three assists for the USF team. Defender Emma Trittin appeared in 18 games and totaled 1,708 minutes as a junior in the 2017 season. She has continued to be a consistent part of the Cougar's defensive unit.
 
Fourth year Head Coach Brittany Domino looks maintain momentum from last season
In three years under Domino's guidance, the Cougars have built up their defense and added offseason signings to bolster their offensive attack, which set Division II program records for goals, points, assists and nearly every statistical category. In her third season at the helm of the USF Women's Soccer program, Domino reached unprecedented territory for USF in their Division II era, finishing with a 5-9-4 overall record, 4-7-4 in the NSIC during the 2017 campaign. The Cougars finished with program-bests of five wins overall, four wins in NSIC games, and 16 total points in league play, tying them for 10th place, their highest finish in six seasons as members of the league. Under Domino's direction in 2018, Sioux Falls again improved on both sides of the ball, breaking their previous Division II USF program records in both goals scored and goals allowed. The Cougar coaching staff also includes Assistant Coach Kyle Halfpop who has been with USF for two years.