Huskies welcome Central Missouri to wrap-up non-conference slate

ST. CLOUD—St. Cloud State soccer (2-0-0, 0-0-0 NSIC) seeks to continue its undefeated, unblemished start to 2017 in its final non-conference tilt of the season against MIAA foe Central Missouri (2-0-0, 0-0-0 MIAA). Kick off is schedule for 7 p.m. on Friday, September 8 at Husky Stadium.

Soccer fans can watch the game online at scsuhuskies.com/live or follow along with the live stats. The live stream of the game will also be available on the NSIC app, which is available for for download for Apple TV, Roku, Amazon TV, and Android TV.

Tickets for the match will be available on game day at the Husky Stadium box office. Fans can also purchase them ahead of time at scsutickets.com. SCSU students with a valid student ID will receive free admission.

HUSKY NOTES:

ALL-TIME: St. Cloud State is 2-4-0 in six all-time meetings against Central Missouri in a series that dates back to the 1997 season. The two programs have not matched up since the 2006 campaign, though—which the Huskies dropped, 3-0. SCSU's last win in the series came on the road, 1-0, in 2004.
KNOW YOUR OPPONENT: The Jennies finished their 2016 season with a 21-2-0 overall mark and a 10-1 record in MIAA conference play, winning both the league regular season and conference titles. They earned a No. 1 seed for the NCAA Div. II Tournament and advanced to the quarterfinals, where they fell to eventual national runner-up Grand Valley State, 3-1.

UCM is 2-0-0 on this young season and, like SCSU, are unscored-on through two games. The Jennies have out-scored their opponents, 9-0, including a 5-0 win in their most recent outing against the NSIC's Augustana.
PERFECT START: The Huskies defeated Northern Michigan, 3-0, and Michigan Tech, 1-0, on opening weekend for their first two-game undefeated start to a season since 2013. The win over MTU was also the program's first in a series that began in 2014. In addition, SCSU kept clean sheets in both games, the first time it has done so since 2013. Senior goalkeeper Leah Schmidt and sophomore goalkeeper Kelsey Christian each received their first career starts between the sticks and made two saves vs. NMU and one save vs. Tech, respectively, to earn the shutouts.

Four different Huskies—junior Kylie Cleary, sophomore Hannah Marion, junior Maria Kass, and senior Sarah Benhart—scored the goals that powered SCSU to its undefeated start.
NSIC HONORS: After helping anchor the Huskies' back line in the two shutout wins last weekend, junior defender Maria Witte was named the NSIC Defensive Player of the Week. Witte and the SCSU defense limited the Wildcats and Huskies to a combined nine shots and just three shots on target. The Batavia, Ill., native also notched an assist from a free kick against NMU—her second career helper.
PRESEASON POLL: After placing sixth in 2016 with a 6-5-4 conference record, SCSU was picked to finish fifth in the NSIC this season by the league's coaches. Coupled with their 2015 fifth place finish, the Huskies have made back-to-back NSIC Tournament appearances for the first time since 2011 and 2012.
KASS LEADS THE CHARGE: SCSU returns four of its top five goal-scorers and point-getters this season, led by two-time All-NSIC selection junior forward Maria Kass. The Pewaukee, Wis., native paced the Huskies with nine goals and 22 points in 2016 and has led the team in scoring in each of her first two seasons. She has one goal in two games so far this season.
DOMINANT DEFENSE: Three-time All-NSIC senior defender Mackenzie Winters will anchor the St. Cloud State back line, which ranked as the seventh-stingiest in the NSIC last year allowing just 1.22 goals per game. Winters played every minute of every game for the Huskies in 2016.
WE'RE BAAACK: Overall, SCSU returns eight starters and 16 letter winners from 2016's NSIC Tournament Team, including All-NSIC honorable mention junior midfielder Kelli Santo Paulo, as well as sophomore forward Hannah Marion and sophomore midfielder Brooke Bares who each notched three goals in their rookie campaigns.

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Players Mentioned

Brooke Bares

Sarah Benhart

Kelsey Christian

Kylie Cleary

Maria Kass

Hannah Marion

Kelli Santo Paulo

Leah Schmidt

Mackenzie Winters

Maria Witte