Box Score

MINOT, N.D. – Minot State University soccer took to the offensive in its first exhibition match of the season, downing the University of Winnipeg 4-1 in NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Saturday at Herb Parker Stadium.

It marked the first match of the season for each team and the first for MSU as a NCAA Division II provisional member. The game was an exhibition for the Beavers as they will get their first official match the first week of September.

But exhibition or not, MSU head coach Jason Spain said happy.

“We played pretty hard and our pressure was good for a big stretch of the match. We got a little tired late, but overall played pretty well together,” he said. “We did a lot of stuff well and things went our way for the most part when we were working hard.”

The Beavers were shorthanded as Spain had nearly as many players on the bench as he did in uniform. MSU is redshirting multiple players during the transition season. That puts pressure on the players who will dress this season. One such player, goalkeeper Ashley Barcewski (Jr., O'Fallon, Mo.), looked to handle it in stride Saturday. She made six saves in her Beavers' debut.

“Ashley caught the crosses that we needed her to go and get and made a big one (save) on that point-blanker early,” Spain said. “We would have to have a lot of confidence in Ashley to redshirt Marie Torres (Sr., G, San Bruno, Calif.) like we did.

The Beavers got into the scoring column on Jamie MacFarlane's (So., F, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) steal and goal just over six minutes into the contest. MacFarlane picked off a pass and sidestepped Winnipeg's goalkeeper Meaghan Wilford before hammering home a shot. MacFarlane scored twice in the exhibition.

“Jamie is a whole other player since last year as a rookie,” said Spain. “She has a year under her belt and it shows. She's going to be a keystone in the offense.”

MSU took a 2-0 lead into halftime on a fine goal by Sidney Bockoven (So., Mid, Elk Grove, Calif.), who outraced a Wesmen defender and Wilford to punch in a shot. MacFarlane pushed it to 3-0 in the 55th minute on a solid feed by freshman Taylor Bachman-Williams (Fr., F, Minot, N.D.). Bachman-Williams, who scored the match's final goal in the 76th minute, drew praise from her head coach in her first collegiate contest.

“Taylor won a lot of balls up front. She worked hard,” Spain said.

Winnipeg's Wilford ended with 10 saves for the Wesmen.

MSU held a 20-11 advantage in shots on goal, while the Beavers finished with six corner kicks. The Beavers are on the road for a second exhibition game Monday at Bismarck State College before returning home for a final exhibition match, taking on Northern State University Tuesday at 4 p.m. at the Herb.