Marauders edge Beavers in NSIC opener
The University of Mary women's soccer team took four games to earn their first conference win last season on their way to the Northern Sun tournament championship game.
Midfielder Rio Spruenken ensured they earned their first conference win quite a bit earlier this season, scoring the lone tally of the Marauders' NSIC opener against in-state rival Minot State on Friday afternoon to lead a 1-0 win at the Community Bowl.
"It was a fight, Minot is an organized and tough team that disrupted a lot," Marauders head coach Sarah Cook said. "We knew it would take a special moment for us to pull through, and it was an excellent build from MaLiah to work forward and having numbers in the box always helps."
The Beavers have been a challenging matchup for the Marauders in the past, with Mary entering with a 5-8-4 record and earning just their second win in their last eight meetings with Minot State.
"Minot State's well-coached, they're organized and they're gritty," Cook said. "They get a lot of numbers in behind the ball. With us being a team that likes to utilize pace a lot, that can make it difficult.
"Our talk at halftime was that we had to make sure we were outmatching (their effort). Proud of the group to be able to come through."
Minot native and junior forward MaLiah Burke began the build that led into Mary's goal, driving into Minot State's end before sending a cross into the box.
Forward Olivia Gardner had the first whack at Burke's cross, sending the ball toward Beaver goalkeeper Siriana Gudino.
Gardner's shot couldn't break through, but Spruenken was in position for the rebound, beating Gudino for her second point of the season and her fifth goal as a Marauder.
"It was great recognition of space for us to play forward, MaLiah did an outstanding job of opening up the play by setting herself up, and the cross was well-struck to Olivia Gardner, who got the first shot," Cook said. "Rio followed it up. Having players there and being able to have numbers inside the box at that moment was the difference-maker. It was a great finish."
The remainder of the game was a defensive battle.
Gudino was busier than U-Mary keeper Molly Fischer, with Gudino making eight saves on nine shots on target against and Fischer stopping all three shots she faced.
Fischer's shutout was the third of the season already for the Marauders, who shut out Black Hills State and Emporia State in non-conference play.
"It helps having Mo Malone and Allison Lepp as our two centerbacks, they help organize everything," Cook said. "Organizing is the crucial thing there, and they've done that well."
Minot State pressed hard for an equalizer late, putting several free kicks in Mary's defensive half toward the net, but Fischer was in position to make two crucial saves and had her defense make several shot blocks to aid the team's third straight shutout.
"It's the first conference game, it's Minot, it's warm and both teams want to win," Cook said. "It's wonderful our team was able to fight and find an answer and rise to greatness today."
The veteran Marauders used their knowledge on burning clock from last year's NSIC tournament well, pinning Minot State deep in their own end for much of the final few minutes of play.
"That's not something we cover, it's a culture, it's a thing we hope our program passes down," Cook said. "They did a great job of killing the game at the end for sure, which helped with our overall spirit, to have the game in hand."
Mary's win starts the Marauders atop the conference standings entering their first road NSIC matchup, a favorable road trip to the Fargo/Moorhead area to face the Dragons of Minnesota State-Moorhead.
In 16 prior matches with MSUM, the Marauders are 13-0-3, and tied last year's matchup for their first conference points.
"The nice thing is it's a short road trip, it seems like most road trips are pretty long so going there is almost a home away from home (comparatively)," Cook said. "This hybrid weekend gives us a good taste of both being at home and on the road. That's why we practiced our non-conference, to know what it's like to be on the road."
Minot State hosts Northern State on Sunday at noon for their conference home opener.
