MINOT, N.D. – It couldn't have gone much better for the Minot State soccer team which kicked off the Beaver Athletic Department's return to action for the 2021-22 year with a convincing exhibition win at Herb Parker Stadium on Tuesday night.

All-time leading scorer Sofia Lewis netted one of three goals for the Beavers, who notched a 3-0 win over the Magic City Legends U19 team.

Minot State continues its preseason slate with another exhibition game on Saturday at Concordia College at 3 p.m., before hosting Regis on Sept. 3 at 7 p.m. in its regular-season opener at Herb Parker Stadium.

While the win was a nice start, seeing Lewis score set the tone for a great day as she finished off an assist from Sarah Upton in the 22^nd minute for what proved to be the game-winner.
 

"I think that's huge," Minot State coach Chris Clements said of Lewis' early goal. "I think anytime you have a forward who scores goals and they can score that first goal of the year, it relieves a little bit of pressure and makes them a little bit more calm and they're not chasing anything. I think that was huge for us and probably good for her."

Feeding off Lewis' early goal, the Beavers kept pressing and jumped on top 2-0 as Anabel Noches scored in the 28^th minute, unassisted.

On top 2-0 at halftime, Minot State finished off the scoring in the 59^th minute when Tiffany Schennum put away an assist from Madalaine St. Yves.

Plenty of offense for the Beavers, who also played solid defense as a trio of goalkeepers – Maddie Kindred, Mackenzie Long, and Gen Miller – teamed up for the shutout with Long making one save in the win.

Minot State's keepers weren't too busy thanks to a solid defensive effort by their teammates.

"We work hard on defensive movement and defensive shape," Clements said, adding, "and when you come out and don't give up too many opportunities – really we were able to stop them in the middle third and not allow them to create too much in behind us – I think that is a key to a team like this, can we stop those opportunities early so it doesn't turn into anything else."

While the offense started fast, and the defense played strong, another big factor in Tuesday's exhibition win was the Beavers' depth, with 23 players seeing action in the victory and maintaining a high standard of play all evening.

"I think our work rate was our biggest focus," Minot State's coach said. "We were able to play everybody and get good minutes for everybody and the tempo didn't really drop off, we were still able to play the way we wanted to play and I think that's an important factor for us going forward."