Jackrabbits beat Utah State 1-0 in opener

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BROOKINGS – Karlee Manding scored in the 89th minute and Maggie Smither posted a shutout in goal as the South Dakota State women’s soccer team opened the season with a 1-0 defeat of Utah State on Friday evening at Fishback Soccer Park.

Manding converted a penalty kick with 1:47 remaining in regulation. The PK was set up by a handball in the box.

Smither recorded five saves.

“I think our players felt like that was a good first step for us,” coach Brock Thompson told SDSU Sports Information. “I thought we were really dangerous when we were able to find our forwards early. Our forwards and attacking midfielders did a great job of being dynamic on the ball, and our defenders and Maggie stepped up big for us. There were a lot of positives and a lot of things we could improve on, but overall I thought it was a great first game for us to learn from.”

The Jackrabbits outshot the Aggies 15-10 and held a 6-2 advantage in corner kicks. USU had a 5-3 edge in shots on goal.

Utah State’s Rachel Noel made two saves. Marli Niederhauser received a yellow card in the 68th minute.

SDSU is host to Idaho State on Sunday at 1 p.m. The Bengals fell 2-0 at South Dakota on Friday.