The University of Mary women's soccer team opens the NSIC tournament on its own field Monday, when the No. 2-seeded Marauders host No. 7 Bemidji State in an opening-round match at 4 p.m. at the MDU Resources Community Bowl in Bismarck, according to the Northern Sun's bracket announcement and UMary Athletics.
The eight-team tournament is single elimination with no reseeding, per the NSIC. UMary Athletics said it is the first time the school has hosted an NSIC soccer tournament match since 2008.
UMary (13-2-3 overall) arrives as NSIC co-champion after finishing 12-1-2 in league play for 38 points, the same mark as Minnesota State, per the conference standings. The Mavericks took the No. 1 seed on the head-to-head tiebreaker, the NSIC said; they beat UMary 3-0 on Sept. 13 in Mankato, according to UMary Athletics. The Marauders have won seven straight and are unbeaten in 13 matches since that loss, according to UMary Athletics.
Bemidji State (8-4-6, 7-3-5 NSIC) finished seventh with 26 points, level with St. Cloud State; the Beavers got the higher seed because they beat the Huskies during the regular season, per the NSIC. Bemidji State closed the regular season with a 2-0 loss at Minnesota Duluth on Thursday, according to BSU Athletics.
The teams met once this fall, on Sept. 27 at the Community Bowl, and UMary won 2-0. Both goals came from second-half set pieces, per the UMary recap: Dina Polanco drove a 62nd-minute free kick through the Beavers' wall, and junior defender Bella Kozlowski finished a Chloe Brand corner in the 79th minute. Goalkeeper Kadyn Dilger stopped all four Bemidji State shots on goal.
Polanco, a Guatemalan national team player, is the NSIC's leading scorer, per UMary Athletics. Official stats credit her with 20 goals, eight game-winners and a 7-for-7 mark on penalty kicks. Brand leads the team with seven assists, and defender Ivy Wessel was named NSIC Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 26 for the second time this season. Dilger is 12-1-3 in goal with a 0.79 goals-against average and seven solo shutouts.
Bemidji State's attack runs through Madisen Fritel, who leads the Beavers with five goals and 12 points, per BSU stats; Megan Ko has three goals and three assists, two of them game-winners. Payton Kropp has started 10 matches in goal with a 0.95 goals-against average and three shutouts. Both teams have allowed 15 goals in 18 matches, according to their season stats.
The Marauders-Beavers winner meets the winner of No. 3 Minnesota Duluth and No. 6 Augustana, who also play Monday at 4 p.m., in the semifinals Friday, Nov. 6. No. 1 Minnesota State hosts No. 8 St. Cloud State at 1 p.m. Monday, and No. 4 Northern State hosts No. 5 Concordia-St. Paul at 5 p.m.
Under NSIC rules, the highest remaining seed after Monday hosts both the semifinals and the championship match on Sunday, Nov. 8, which UMary lists for 2 p.m. If UMary wins and Minnesota State is upset, the final weekend comes to the Community Bowl. The tournament champion earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Central Region tournament, per the conference, and the NCAA bracket will be announced Nov. 9.
