THIS WEEK
The 2023 season intensity takes a jump to a whole new level this weekend. Not only does the University of Mary women's soccer team open Northern Sun play with a rivalry game on the road, the Marauders also open their home NSIC schedule.
 
The Marauders open the conference season on the road against Highway 83 rival Minot State University on Friday, Sept. 15, at Herb Parker Stadium in Minot, ND. Game time is 6 pm
 
The home portion of NSIC play commences Sunday, Sept. 17, when UMary hosts MSU Moorhead. Start time is 1 pm for the Youth Soccer Appreciation Game at the MDU Resources Community Bowl in Bismarck, ND.
 
YOUTH SOCCER APPRECIATION GAME SET FOR SUNDAY, SEPT. 17
The Youth Soccer Appreciation Game is set for Sunday, Sept. 17, when UMary hosts MSU Moorhead at 1 pm.
 
Prior to the game, youth soccer players are invited on the field to enter the pitch through the Marauders Centennial Collision & Paint tunnel.
 
Youth 12 and younger with an adult are admitted free. Any youth 12 and under unaccompanied by an adult are charged a $5 admission fee at the gate (cash only).
 
RECORDS
The Marauders are 1-2-1 at the completion of the non-conference segment of their schedule… Minot State University is 3-1… MSU Moorhead is 1-3.
 
LAST WEEK
UMary took on a pair of 2022 NCAA Division II playoff squads last weekend in two neutral site games in Mankato, MN, and both foes owned Top 25 preseason rankings. The Marauders fell 2-0 to Grand Valley State University before closing with a 3-1 loss to #18 Central Missouri.
 
NORTHERN SUN OPENER
Northern Sun play opens this weekend for all 15 conference sides. The Marauders were picked to finish 5^th in the preseason poll after they tied for sixth in the NSIC last year, forging a mark of 10-5-4 overall and 7-4-4 in conference action. UMary has qualified for postseason play the last five seasons.
 
YOU AGAIN
The schedule is correct. MSU Moorhead is the UMary opponent for a second straight home games. The two Northern Sun foes faced off in a non-conference competition on the Marauders pitch on Labor Day, a 1-0 win for UMary on a goal from Mo Malone. The Sunday, Sept. 15, match between the Marauders and the Dragons is a conference contest.
 
EARLY BID
The last three times UMary has faced Minot State in the regular season, the matchup was the final game of the Northern Sun season. This year the Highway 83 rivals kick off the season against each other.
 
HISTORY – MINOT STATE
With the addition of Minot State to the Northern Sun in 2012, the Marauders trail the Beavers 3-4-3 in regular season conference games… MSU holds a 3-1 edge in playoff games… last year the Marauders and the Beavers played to a scoreless draw.
 
HISTORY – MSU MOORHEAD
Since beginning NSIC play in 2006, the Marauders have yet to lose to the Dragons in 20 meetings. UMary leads the series 17-0-3 and own four straight wins.
 
HALF AND HALF
Molly Fischer has posted a pair of clean sheets in four outings this season. She ranks 20^th nationally in shutouts. In the NSIC Fischer is 3^rd in shutouts per game at 0.500… As a team UMary ranks 47^th out of 251 teams in shutout percentage (two shutouts in four games).
 
NETFINDER
Sophomore MaLiah Burke found the net for the second time in her career and the first time this season when she scored against #18 Central Missouri. Providing the helper was freshman Payton Kooiman, who was credited with her first collegiate assist.
 
OLD
Returning 2022 starters Mo Malone, Eli Olsen, Rio Spruenken, Ava Vizenor and Tara Young and partime starters Molly Fischer and Mary Meeks have started all four games this season for the Marauders. Fellow returners MaLiah Burke, Sophia Lange and Olivia Gardner all own three starts.
 
NEW
A pair of newcomers - freshman Ashlyn Davison and Amélie Faa, a transfer from Clemson, and sophomore Kira Hockley earned their first starts for UMary this season. They have each been in the starting lineup twice.
 
MORE MO
Team co-captain Mo Malone delivered the Marauders first goal of the season in the 19^th minute of game two when she bent home a corner kick in a 1-0 UMary win over visiting MSU Moorhead. The junior defender also played a key role in a pair of shutouts to start the season. Malone helped UMary limit Western Colorado to no goals on nine shots (five on frame). She was credited with a team save to preserve the draw with the Mountaineers after clearing away a shot nearing the goal line and about to be tapped into an empty net. On Monday the Dragons were held to five shots (four on frame). For the weekend the Marauders defense didn't allow a goal in two games, giving up 14 combined shots with nine on frame.
 
FOLLOWING THE MARAUDERS
Visit www.GoUMary.com/coverage for links to webcasts and live stats for all Marauders sports.
 
TICKETS
Tickets for Marauders home games are available online at www.umarytickets.com or via the HomeTown Fan App for iOS and Android mobile devices.
 
EXPERIENCE
UMary returns 18 players from the 2022 season, including eight who started 13 or more contests and 14 who earned at least one start. Kendra Park, Eli Olsen, Mo Malone and Ava Vizenor return after starting all 19 games last year. Tara Young, Olivia Gardner, Rio Spruenken and MaLiah Burke each started at least 13 games.
 
2023 NSIC PLAYERS TO WATCH
Eli Olsen and Kenrda Park earned NSIC Players to Watch in 2023 for the Marauders. Park, a junior from Lake Havasu, AZ, has led the Marauders in goals in each of her two seasons at UMary… The forward found the net five times as a freshman before topping the charts with seven last year. She added three assists and totaled 17 points. Park also led the Marauders in points and game-winners (3). She finished the regular season 8th in the NSIC in goals, 9th in points and 4th in game-winners… Olson made an immediate impact on the Marauders in 2022 as she earned NSIC Defender of the Week honors in back-to-back weeks early in the season. A transfer from Charleston Southern University, Olsen scored three goals for UMary, including a couple of game-winners. She helped the Marauders post 11 clean sheets while limiting the opposition to 12 goals in 19 matches.
 
TRIO OF ALL-NSIC PLAYERS RETURN FOR MARAUDERS
Mo Malone and Rio Spruenken join Kendra Park as returning All-NSIC players as all three earned second team honors in 2022… A defender from Placentia, CA, Malone helped the Marauder post 11 shutouts in 19 games in her first season at UMary. Now a junior, the transfer from the University of Texas at El Paso scored a goal and added three assists last year… A sophomore midfielder from Krefeld, NRW, Germany, Spruenken added an extra dimension to the Marauders attack. In her first season at UMary, she posted two goals and dished five assists to finish with nine points in 17 games. Spruenken was 4th in the NSIC in assists and 13th in game-winning goals with two.
 
29th SEASON OF MARAUDERS SOCCER
This is the 29th season of University of Mary women's soccer. The Marauders took to the pitch for the first time in 1995.
 
2023-24 MARAUDERS TICKETING FAQs

• Fans are encouraged to purchase tickets online at www.umarytickets.com or via the HomeTown
• Fan App for iOS and Android mobile devices
• Save money by purchasing tickets online
• $5 discount (minus fees) on tickets purchased online vs. purchases at the gate
• Tickets purchased at the gate are CASH ONLY transactions
• ATMs are located near the main ticketing gates for Marauders home game
• Debit and credit card purchases are online only at www.umarytickets.com or via the HomeTown Fan App
• UMary students and faculty and staff with their MCard are admitted FREE
• Youth 12 and younger with an adult are admitted FREE
• Any youth 12 and under unaccompanied by an adult are charged a $5 admission fee at the gate (cash only)
• All ticket sales are FINAL at time of purchase, whether online or at the gate

 
MARAUDERS HOME GAME TICKET PRICES | Soccer, basketball, hockey, track & field, volleyball and wrestling tickets

• Adults | $10 + fees online and $15 (CASH ONLY) at the gate
• Seniors (65+) and youth 13-18 | $5 + fees online and $10 (CASH ONLY) at the gate
• Children 12 and under accompanied by an adult | Free
• Children 12 and under with no adult present| $5

 
#marauders#