Women's Soccer | October 25, 2014

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Teams: Minot State at Augustana | Series: Minot State leads series 2-1
Date: Saturday, Oct. 25, 2014 | Time: 11 a.m. | Site: Morstad Field
Teams: Minot State at Wayne State | Series: Minot State leads series 2-0
Date: Sunday, Oct. 26, 2014 | Time: 1 p.m. | Site: WSC Soccer Field

MATCH-UPS: Minot State begins its road weekend with a tough match against Augustana College. The Vikings were ranked the No. 20 team in the country before losing to No. 1 ranked Minnesota State this past weekend 5-1. The Beavers need to win to remain in the running for a home playoff game. In the second game of the weekend, the Beavers take on the Wildcats of Wayne State who are fresh off their first conference win this season against Concordia-St. Paul. This is another critical game for Minot State as they prepare for postseason play.

RECORDS: Minot State enters the week of Oct. 20 with an overall record of 7-5-2 and a 6-4-1 record in the Northern Sun. The Beavers are currently riding a three-game winning streak. Augustana begins the week with an 11-3 overall record and a 9-2 record in the NSIC. Wayne State picked up their first conference win this past weekend to improve to 1-10 in the conference and 2-11-1 overall.

COACHES CORNER: Jason Spain is in his fifth season as head coach of the women's soccer program at Minot State. Spain has done impressive work in his four seasons with the team, sporting a highly successful 42-27-9 record. Last season, Spain led the Beavers to their second consecutive birth in the NSIC postseason tournament. In 2012, the Beavers won the NSIC tournament and claimed the automatic bid into the NCAA Division II tournament. Brandon Barkus is in his ninth season as the head coach of Augustana College. Barkus posted his best year back in 2008 when the Vikings finished with an overall record of 13-6-1. The Vikings have posted double-digit wins in two other seasons with Barkus at the helm, most recently in 2013. Wayne State is led by Tom Cliff who is in his second year with the Wildcats. Cliff inherited a struggling program and continues to turn the program around. Before accepting the position at Wayne State, Cliff served as the Director of Soccer and head coach at Adams State in Colorado.

RANKINGS: In the National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll released on Oct. 21, neither team slated to face the Beavers this week found themselves ranked in the top 25. Augustana was ranked No. 20 in the previous poll but dropped out of the top 25 after a loss to Minnesota State. The Vikings did receive one vote in the poll, though.

NOTING THE BEAVERS: Sitting in eighth place heading into this past weekend, Minot State had their backs against the wall and needed to come away with points to stay alive in the NSIC playoff picture. The Beavers did just that as they ended the weekend with two wins and six points. In the first match of the weekend, Minot State defeated Minnesota-Duluth by a score of 3-1. After taking an early lead in the game, the Bulldogs leveled the score at one with under five minutes to play in the second half, but Emilie Rebelo (Jr., D, Sacramento, Calif.) struck with her second free kick goal of the game to give the Beavers a 2-1 lead heading into the half. The Beavers tacked on an insurance goal in the second half to take the game 3-1. The second game of the weekend, against St. Cloud State, was won in dramatic overtime fashion as Jamie MacFarlane (Sr., F, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) scored her second overtime winner of the season to give Minot State a 2-1 win. With the wins, Minot State sits in a tie for fifth place in the NSIC.

NOTING THE VIKINGS: Beginning the week as the No. 20 ranked team in the nation, Augustana came away with a 2-1 overtime victory against Concordia-St. Paul in their first game of the weekend, but struggled in their second game of the weekend. This past Sunday, the Vikings dropped their match against No. 1 ranked Minnesota State by a score of 5-1. Such a convincing defeat paired with a close overtime victory against a bottom half team in Concordia-St. Paul dropped Augustana out of the top 25 rankings.

NOTING THE WILDCATS: After struggling to find a victory in the first half of NSIC play, Wayne State finally came away with a win against Concordia-St. Paul this past weekend. The Wildcats scored a season-high three goals in the game to come away with a 3-2 victory. In the first game of the weekend, the Wildcats weren't quite as successful as they dropped a match 7-0 to the No. 1 ranked Minnesota State Mavericks.

SERIES HISTORY: Last season Minot State came away with a 2-1 win as they hosted Augustana College at Herb Parker Stadium. The Beavers are 2-1 in the brief history between the two teams. The Beavers had success against Wayne State last season as well, defeating them 1-0. Minot State is 2-0 in their short history with the Wildcats.

MAC ATTACK: Minot State's Jamie MacFarlane (Sr., F, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) hadn't scored since recording a game-winning overtime goal against Southern Nazarene in the second game of the season for the Beavers, but that changed for the better this past weekend when MacFarlane recorded a goal in each of the team's games. MacFarlane notched her second game-winning overtime goal of the season as the Beavers defeated St. Cloud State in the 100th minute of play.

SET PIECES FOR THE WIN: Set pieces can make or break a season, therefore Minot State couldn't be happier Emilie Rebelo (Jr., D, Sacramento, Calif.) is on their side. The center-back scored two more goals this weekend, giving her the team lead with four goals, and both goals were scored off free kicks. All four of Rebelo's goals this season have come off set pieces (3 free kicks, 1 penalty kick). Rebelo also picked up an assist in the team's second game this past weekend against St. Cloud State.

BY THE NUMBERS
2: Just two points separate 5th place from 9th place in the NSIC table. All points are critical for the Beavers going forward.

3: Minot State is currently riding a three-game winning streak, their second such streak this season. The Beavers previously went three straight games with a win back in late-September.

4: Only four games remain in the regular season for the Beavers. Three of their next four games will be against teams in the bottom half of the Northern Sun.