THIS WEEK
In playoff mode for the last three weeks while stalking a playoff spot, the University of Mary women's soccer team opens the 2018 Northern Sun tournament at NSIC champion Bemidji State University on Wednesday, Oct. 31. Game time is 1 pm at Chet Anderson Field.
 
RECORDS
The Marauders are 8-7-2 overall and finished 7-6-2 in the Northern Sun for 8th place with 23 points… The Beavers are 17-0-1 overall and 14-0-1 in the NSIC, winning their first-ever conference title with 43 points to earn home field in the league tournament.
 
REWIND
The Marauders picked up their fifth straight win with a 1-0 victory at Minnesota Duluth on a goal in the waning minutes of play. Megan Lowery scored her fourth counter of the season with 2:45 left in the game, converting off a corner kick served by Jade Smith. Madisyn Waltman faced 17 shots from the Bulldogs and stopped all six that were on frame for her seventh shutout… UMary wrapped up the season with a 2-0 home loss to St. Cloud State.
 
FINISHERS
A furious finish to the season by UMary earned the Marauders a slot in the Northern Sun tournament for the second straight year. Sitting 13^th in the league standings with six games/three weeks left in the regular season, the Marauders went on a 5-game winning streak to jump as high as 7^th place in the standings before finishing eighth in the 16-team league.
 
5 ALIVE
The Marauders five-game win streak is the program's longest since UMary won their final six regular season games in 2012.
 
BACK-TO BACK
The Marauders qualified for the Northern Sun tournament the last two seasons. The last time UMary qualified for postseason play in consecutive seasons it was during a seven-year run from 2006-2012.
 
ON THE LINE
The winner of the Northern Sun tournament earns an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament.
 
THE OPPOSITION
One of the top teams in the country, Bemidji State owns a season record of 17-0-1, won their first Northern Sun championship with a record of 14-0-1, is the top team in the NCAA Central Region rankings, is currently ranked fourth in the nation in the United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division II poll and has been rated as high as third this season. Rachel Norton headlines a potent Beavers attack, leading the NSIC in goals (19) and points (46). In addition to the top scorer, the Beavers also feature the top goalkeeper. Anna Fobbe leads the NSIC in goals against average (0.457), save percentage (.904) and shutouts (10).
 
THE TOURNAMENT
The 8^th steed Marauders and the #1 seeded Beavers open the Northern Sun tournament on Wednesday, Oct. 31. The other opening round games are #6 Winona State at #3 Augustana (3 pm), #7 Concordia-St. Paul at #2 Minnesota State (3 pm) and #5 St. Cloud State at #4 Minot State (5 pm).
 
The highest-seeded team remaining after the opening round will host the semifinals and championship round of the NSIC tournament. The semifinals are set for Friday, November 2, with the championship game to be played Sunday, November 4.
 
The winners of the Winona State/Augie and CSP/MSU will face off in one semifinal game while the SCSU/MINOT and UMary/BSU victors are paired against each other.
 
TIMING
Sr. F Megan Lowery has been incredibly timely on offense in recent games. In a four-game span – all wins – she has three goals and an assists. The All-NSIC and all-region performer scored the only goals of the game in 1-0 wins over Sioux Falls and Minnesota Duluth, had the winning goal against Winona State and posted an assist on the winning goal against Upper Iowa. For the year she has four goals – three game-winners – and three assists.
 
SEVEN
Freshman goalkeeper Madisyn Waltman her fourth clean sheet in five games and her seventh of the season in the Marauders 1-0 win at Minnesota Duluth. Her other shutouts include a pair 1-0 road wins at Southwest Minnesota State and Sioux Falls, a scoreless draw with Minnesota Crookston, a 1-0 win at MSU Moorhead and 2-0 victories over Wayne State College and Upper Iowa. She is 4th in shutouts in the NSIC and 8th in goals against average (1.03). Waltman now has the 5th most shutouts by a Marauders goalkeeper in a single season. The single season shutout record is 11 by Kristin Werner in 2004.
 
LOCK IT DOWN
The Marauders defense allows just 9.6 shots per game, the fourth fewest among teams in the NSIC. By comparison, the UMary offense is taking 11.6 shots/game. Only three times have the Marauders allowed more than 11 shots in a game. Additionally the UMary defense has held foes to four or fewer shots on goal ten times and allowed seven or more shots on goal just four times.
 
GOLDEN TOUCH
Caylin Cathey has the golden touch this season. The senior forward has scored seven of the Marauders 20 goals this season. She also has three assists for a team-leading 17 points. Her three game-winning goals ties her with Megan Lowery for the team lead. The All-NSIC player is eighth in the league in goals scored, ninth in points and fourth in game-winning goals.
 
HELPING HAND
Sophomore Hannah Richter has proved to be a dangerous offensive weapon for the Marauders from the back row. The defender from Bismarck, ND, has two goals and four assists. She is third on the team in goals and points (8) and leads in assists. Richer is tied for 11th in the NSIC in assists.
 
REINFORCEMENTS
Three Marauders limited by injury last year have returned to the pitch. A sophomore, Patricia Martin was limited to just one game last season returned to see significant time in 12 of 17 games. Katie Berg and Kacee Bailey, senior defenders who missed last year, also have seen action. Berg has played in nine games and started twice. Bailey has played in four contests with one start.
 
SENIOR SALUTE
The Marauders feature five seniors in the starting lineup. Midfielders Caitlin Dooley and Megan Lowery both earned all-conference and all-region honors last season. Forwards Jade Smith and Caylin Cathey received All-Northern Sun honors. The fifth senior is Lisa Swärdh, who has two goals and an assist on the season.
 
JUNIOR MINTS
As big as a class as the senior class is with seven players, the junior class is even bigger with eight.
 
A LOOK BACK
UMary finished the 2017 season with a record of 12-5-1 overall, an increase of eight wins from the previous year. UMary was fifth in the NSIC standings and defeated Minot State 1-0 on the road in the first round of the Northern Sun tournament to advance to the semifinals.
 
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