The South Dakota State soccer team opened the season over the weekend, with the Jackrabbits playing Missouri to a draw and losing to Kansas.
SDSU scored a late equalizer on Thursday to earn a 1-1 draw against the Tigers and then lost 1-0 to the Jayhawks on Sunday.
The Jacks will have their home opener this coming Friday as they host Southwest Minnesota State at 7 p.m. at Fishback Soccer Complex in Brookings.
Thursday
SDSU 1, Missouri 1
COLUMBIA, Mo. A pair of South Dakota State sophomores in Mia Bosch and Hailee Christensen connected on a 79th minute goal to help the Jackrabbit womens soccer team tie Missouri, 1-1, at Audrey J. Walton Soccer Stadium on Thursday in both teams season opener.
SDSU senior defender Taylor Thomas nearly gave the Jackrabbits an early lead in the 11th minute. She headed a cross towards the net, but Mizzou goalkeeper Kate Phillips snagged the attempt to keep the tally scoreless.
The two teams played to even terms through a majority of the first half before the Tigers got the first advantage of the contest. Mizzou used a corner kick opportunity to get the ball in front of a gathering of players in front of the goal line. The Tigers Ava Vetter easily kicked a shot, with no traffic in sight into the net, to give Mizzou a 1-0 advantage in the 42nd minute.
South Dakota State didnt waste much time in the second half to work on finding a tying goal.
Bosch drew a foul less than five minutes out of the break and was rewarded a free kick from roughly 10 feet outside the box. She hit her ensuing attempt off the left goal post as the Tigers survived the bender from the Jackrabbit midfielder. Just four minutes later, sophomore Zoe Wittkop struck a shot that was saved by Mizzous Phillips as the Tigers staved off another shot.
SDSU goalkeeper Mallorie Benhart made a save in the 56th minute and was followed in the 58th minute by Phillips as the Jackrabbits Taryn Hettich had a shot stopped. Freshman Emma Brezenski registered a shot that needed saving in the 69th minute as the Jacks maintained pressure on the Tiger defense.
The Jackrabbits finally found their equalizer in the 79th minute.
Bosch worked her way into the right side of the box. She turned back and dished a pass to Christensen who from just outside it drilled a shot past the Mizzou keeper to tie the score.
Neither team was able to produce another shot over the final 11 minutes as the two teams closed out a 1-1 draw. Both squads are now 0-0-1 following the season opener.
Notes
- SDSU played its second all-time match against an SEC opponent. The Jackrabbits are now 0-1-1 all-time against members of the Power Four conference. SDSU previously faced Georgia in 2012 and lost in a neutral-site match that season, 5-0.
- South Dakota State had an 11-6 edge in shots and 6-2 advantage in shots on goal. Mizzou was called for eight offside penalties.
- Christensen recorded the fifth goal of her college career with her strike in the 79th minute. Bosch registered her fourth assist.
- Christensen and Thomas, along with Lauren Eckerle, each played the full 90 minutes for the Jackrabbits in the season opener.
Sunday
Kansas 1, SDSU 0
LAWRENCE, Kan. The South Dakota State womens soccer team produced a hard-fought match against Kansas on Sunday, but a 58th minute goal by the Jayhawks Livvy Moore made the difference in a 1-0 final at Rock Chalk Park. Kansas entered the meeting as the 25th ranked team in TopDrawerSoccer.coms Top 25 rankings.
The Jackrabbits (0-1-1) and Jayhawks (2-0-0) played a highly contested affair. SDSU junior goalkeeper Mallorie Benhart made five saves, the most in a game for her in her short time as a Jackrabbit, including a crucial stop on a penalty kick in the 84th minute that kept SDSU within striking distance. SDSUs back line anchored by Lauren Eckerle, Taylor Thomas, and Alohi Ramos, absorbed pressure from a Kansas attack that tallied 16 shots. Eckerle also contributed offensively, forcing a save on a free kcik opportunity late in the match that nearly leveled the score.
SDSU created several promising chances which included shots on goal from Lauren Walter and MaKynlie Cade. The Jackrabbits earned five corner kicks, matching Kansas in that category, and maintained 52% possession in the second half.
Freshman Jenna Maloy played a team-high 82 minutes. Newcomers Hannah Langstaff and Renny Buchanan made their official SDSU debuts.
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