Jenny Vetter scores her third goal of the season to give the Mavericks a 1-0 win.
Mankato, Minn. --- No. 25 Minnesota State battled all day and used late offense to take down No. 1 Grand Valley State 1-0 at The Pitch on Sunday afternoon.
The win improves the Mavericks record to a 3-0-0 undefeated record on the season and extends MSU's home unbeaten streak to 35 matches, dating back to Sept. 18, 2016. The Lakers fall to 3-1-0 with the loss after being selected in the preseason as the number one team in DII.
Grand Valley State dominated the first half, outshooting Minnesota State 15-2. Senior Alexa Rabune backstopped the Mavericks with five saves in the first half as she and the defensive back line kept the Mavericks in the match. The Mavericks mustered up a pair of shots on goal, but the teams went into the locker rooms scoreless after the first half.
The match remained scoreless up until the 85th minute when sophomore forward Jenny Vetter got in the box for a one-on-one with the Grand Valley State goalkeeper after a through ball from senior Dakota Wendell and poked it by her in the low, right hand corner to give the Mavericks a late 1-0 lead. Minnesota State followed up Vetter's third tally of the season with sound defensive play the next five minutes and held on for their third win of the season.
Here's Jenny Vetter's goal vs. #1 Grand Valley State. Mavericks finish the weekend strong going 2-0 against a pair of Top-4 teams in Division II. @NorthernSunConf pic.twitter.com/xP00sImMgj
— Minnesota State Soccer (@MSU_Mavs_Soccer) September 15, 2019
Rabune extends her career shutout count to 21 as a Maverick, moving her into second on the Maverick all-time list. She stopped eight shots in her third straight shutout of the 2019 season.
Even though the Lakers outshot the Mavericks 25-8 (8-5 on net) and led MSU on the corner kick margin 4-3, Minnesota State used the second half surge to defeat its second top five ranked team of the weekend after also defeating No. 4 Central Missouri on Friday.
Minnesota State will embark on its first true road match and begin NSIC play for the 2019 regular season, Friday at Winona State. The match is slated for a 6:00 p.m. start in Winona, Minn. The Mavericks will also travel to Fayette, Iowa to play Upper Iowa on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
Head coach Brian Bahl, Rabune and Vetter commented following the win.
