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Larry Dean

Women's Soccer Opens up Summit League Play with Two Home Games

| By: WIU Athletic Communications

The Leathernecks play host to North Dakota State and South Dakota State.

MACOMB, Ill. — Western Illinois women's soccer returns home with a pair of weekend contests to open up Summit League play. The Leathernecks face North Dakota State at 3 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 28 in the Homecoming Spirit game. The purple and gold play host to South Dakota State at 12 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 30 on Educator Appreciation Day.

LAST TIME OUT: 
The Western Illinois women's soccer team (2-6-1) fell 4-1 at Illinois State on Wednesday, Sept. 19.  
 
The Redbirds jumped out to an early lead in the sixth minute when Kate Del Fava took the ball into the box and struck the ball into the bottom right corner of the net. Zoe Clarke answered by launching a 35-yard shot over the head of the Illinois State goalkeeper after an assist from Lauryn Peters. as the match evened 1-1.
 
Ines Palmiero Herrera made a diving save to her right in the 31st minute, but one minute later, the Redbirds regained the lead. Off a corner kick, Alix McArthur headed the ball to Kate Del Fava for the go-ahead goal inside the box.
 
The score remained 2-1 until the 74th minute when Hannah Mueller found the ball inside the box and sent it into the bottom left corner of the net as the deficit widened to two goals. Madeline Edwards got a good luck for the Leathernecks and fired a shot wide left in the 77th minute. Mueller struck again during the 80th minute when she drew Palmiero Herrera out of the net and shot it over her into the back of the net for a 4-1 Illinois State advantage.
 
SCOUTING THE BISON: 
North Dakota State heads into Friday with a 3-4-0 overall record after a 2-0 loss at Hawaii on Saturday, Sept. 22. The Bison have had two games canceled due to weather this season. In 2017, North Dakota State bested the Leathernecks by a 2-0 final score.

Mike Regan enters his first season as the head coach of the Bison after spending two years as an assistant at Indiana. Regan was an assistant for five seasons at Drake prior to Indiana and owned a 74-17-6 record as the head coach of the North Iowa Area Community College men's team for five seasons. Junior forward Mariah Haberle leads the squad with three goals and eight total points. Senior midfielder Roxy Roemer can dish it out with a team-high four assists so far.  
 
SCOUTING THE JACKRABBITS: 
South Dakota State is 5-4-1 overall record before its Summit League opener at Purdue Fort Wayne on Friday, Sept. 28. The Jackrabbits have not played since a 0-0 draw at Eastern Washington on Sept. 16. Last year on Oct. 15, South Dakota State came away with a 3-0 win on the road at the Leathernecks.

Brock Thompson is in his second season as the head coach of the Jackrabbits after an 11-5-3 campaign in 2017. Thompson was an assistant at South Dakota State for nine years before taking over the program. Freshman midfielder Karlee Manding has scored a team-high four goals but is followed closely by junior forward Leah Manuleleua with three goals and two assists.

PRIMEAU'S PREGAME QUOTE: 
"This weekend marks the beginning of a new chapter for us," assistant coach Josee Primeau said. "The past nine games are exactly that, the past. The expectation all season long has been that our team makes positive strides so that when Summit League play rolls around, we hit the ground running. The girls have been working very hard in practice and have the right mentality going into the weekend. We recognize that North Dakota State and South Dakota State are two quality sides and welcome the challenge that lies ahead. These are two teams that we lost to in 2017 so we expect that our girls will come out hungry with a chip on their shoulder. With nine teams fighting for four post-season spots, getting results at home becomes extremely important. We'd like to come out of this weekend in a good spot to continue our push to be playing soccer in November."  
 
LOOKING AHEAD: 
The Leathernecks travel to East Grand Forks, Minn., to face new Summit League foe North Dakota on Thursday, Oct. 4 for a 3 p.m. match played at East Grand Forks Senior High School.
 
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