MATCH-UPS: Minot State hits the road to start the season, playing the first two of a three-match road swing this week. MSU plays at Washburn University Thursday starting at 6 p.m. and travels to Fort Hays State Sunday for an 11 a.m. match.

RECORDS: Minot State (0-0, 0-0) will play Washburn (0-0) in both teams season openers. MSU finished 2014 with a 10-7-2 record while Washburn finished with a record of 0-17-1. Fort Hays State (0-0) will play Southwest Minnesota State in its first game on September 4 before facing the Beavers. Fort Hays State finished 2014 with a 13-5-2 record.

COACHES CORNER: Jason Spain is in his sixth 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 52-34-11 record. Last season, Spain led the Beavers to their third 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. Chris Jones will begin his first season as the head coach of Washburn after spending the last two years as an assistant for MSU's second opponent, Fort Hays State. Jones is just the second head coach in Washburn's history. Craig Shaw leads the Fort Hays State team in his fifth season as their head coach. In his eight years as a head coach, three years at Ottawa (Kan.) University, Shaw posts an overall record of 78-51-10. In 2012 he coached the Tigers to a victory in the MIAA Tournament Championship and the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance.

RANKINGS: No teams facing Minot State this weekend are ranked in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America top 25 poll. The NSCAA rankings for Division II come out September 15.

NOTING THE BEAVERS: Minot State finished the 2014 season winning three of its last four games and six of its final eight. Despite graduating three players last season, two of which started every match last season, the Beavers retain a lot of experience. With seven seniors on the roster and 17 upperclassmen total veteran leadership is something MSU has an abundance of. In the five seasons that they have been competing this team has a record of 6-1-3 in the first two games of the season.  
NOTING THE ICHABODS: Despite finishing last season without a win Washburn has seen recent success. In 2013 the Ichabods finished 6-4-1 in their conference and played in two post season games. Although they only have three seniors each of them have seen their share of playing time tallying 160 games played between them. Throughout 2014 WU only scored eight goals while allowing 41 to their opposition. They were a relatively disciplined team despite the poor outcomes, only gathering six yellow cards on the season, compared to MSU's 17.

NOTING THE TIGERS: Fort Hays State ended the season hot in 2014. Before losing to Southwest Baptist in the MIAA semifinals the Tigers hadn't suffered a loss in nine game going 8-0-1 before their season finale. They have earned the respect of other teams in their conference ranking fourth in their preseason coaches' poll. Eight players on the roster last season were named to all-conference selections including standout goalkeeper Kristin Thompson. Thompson  posted a 13-5-2 record in her first season competing for the Tigers which set a record for most wins and best win percentage at the school.

SERIES HISTORY: This is the first ever meeting for Minot State against both Washburn and FHSU.

LONG'S JUMP: Kristin Long (Sr., Mesa, Ariz.) saw a big shift in playing time from her sophomore to junior year. Playing over double the minutes she had previously, 516 in 2013 to 1,248 in 2014, Long was able to show off her skills by scoring four goals and three assists.

RECORD BOOK WATCH: Emilie Rebelo (Sr., Sacramento, Calif.) has already proven herself to be one of the better players to come through Minot, but if she keeps up the pace she could find herself as the number one or two on the all-time career list in the following categories: points, goals, assists, shots, shots on goal and games played.

SISTER, SISTER: Minot State will field two sets of sisters on its roster this season. With Ryann Rafferty (Jr., D, Littleton, Colo.) and Erin Rafferty (Fr., GK, Littleton, Calif.) making up the first pair and twins Andrea Franco (Fr., D, Long Beach, Calif.) and Ashley Franco (Fr., M, Long Beach, Calif.) making up the second. Ryann used a redshirt in 2014 after making appearances in 38 games in her first two seasons.

BY THE NUMBERS

3: Goals needed by senior Emilie Rebelo (Sr., Sacramento, Calif.) to move up to the number two spot on the all-time list. She currently has 12 goals in her career.

9: Games Celene Johnson won last year after moving to the starting position. That was the second best mark by a goalie in MSU history.

17: Yellow cards the Beavers received in 2014, a jump from the 10 they earned in 2013. MSU opponents were given 14 yellow cards.