South Dakota State’s Maya Hansen recorded her second two-goal game of the season and the Jackrabbits completed another shutout en route to a 2-0 victory over North Dakota State on Sunday at Dacotah Field.
SDSU took advantage of a solid play from Hansen to open the contest and didn’t waver the rest of the contest.
Just five minutes had run off the clock and an NDSU defender held possession of the ball on the Bison side of the field. Hansen pressured the defender and stepped in front of a pass attempt and wound up stealing the ball and creating a run towards goal. She weaved her way around another Bison player and kicked a shot right-to-left past the NDSU goalkeeper to put the Jacks ahead 1-0 in the sixth minute of the game.
The Jackrabbits placed two shots on goal courtesy of Karlee Manding and Cece Limongi, as well as another Hansen strike that went wide of goal, over the next 16 minutes of play.
SDSU put the game out of reach in the 23rd minute. Reagan Anderson sent a pass over to Manding who found Hansen at the top of the box. The Savage, Minn., native struck a shot nearly identical to her first goal and again found the back of the net to put the Jacks ahead 2-0.
Hansen’s two goals jumped her into the program record holder slot in points with 96 in her college career surpassing Jennifer (Briggs) Kessler’s previous Jackrabbit record of 94. Hansen is now tied with Kessler as the all-time goals leader in SDSU history withs 39 in her college career.
“Obviously we’ve seen it for four years and it’s always exciting,” SDSU head coach Brock Thompson said of Hansen’s scoring chances. “Whenever she has the ball there is a sense that something is going to happen, whether she’s going to create a chance for herself or somebody else. I really think she played with a ton of energy today.”
South Dakota State controlled the tempo the remaining 45 minutes as the Jacks outshot the Bison 10-2. The Bison created multiple plays to try to cut into the deficit but were thwarted in the second half. SDSU goalkeeper Hailee Fischer made saves on the only two NDSU shots on goal during the remaining 45 minutes. The Jacks still had an edge offensively finishing with a 9-6 advantage in shots in the second half while not committing a foul to the Bison’s six cautions.
“I thought to be honest NDSU started great the first five minutes,” Thompson said. “Then Maya’s defensive play she made that led to the goal really flipped the game. From that point on in the first half, we were very good.
“We weathered the storm in the second half, it played to NDSU’s style, but proud of our team for coming on this trip and getting two results. We played some of our best soccer as we head into next weekend.”
The Jackrabbits completed the regular season with a 13-0-5 overall record. SDSU’s .861 winning percentage in the 2022 season tops the 2021 season’s .816 mark as the best in program history during the regular season.
“I’m so proud of our team,” Thompson said. “The consistency they’ve played with this season is remarkable. When you look at our best soccer to our worst soccer in an 18-game regular season schedule, the margin is pretty small. When we’ve had off times, we’ve still been pretty good.
“Consistency is an undervalued trait. It comes from the consistency we’ve trained with and the habits we live with. I’m just very proud of this team.”
The Jackrabbits, with their 7-0-2 record in conference play and 23 points recorded against league foes, have secured the No. 2 seed for the Summit League Championship. SDSU will have a bye into the semifinal round and have an opportunity to play at Fishback Soccer Park next Sunday. The Jackrabbits will face the winner of No. 3 Omaha and No. 6 North Dakota as the two sides face off at 6 p.m. Friday in Brookings in order to take on the Jacks.
Up Next
South Dakota State will await the winner of the quarterfinal match between Omaha and North Dakota. The Jackrabbits will face the victor in that contest in the semifinals which will be held at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 30, at Fishback Soccer Park.
-GoJacks.com-
