Mark Privratsky

In the preseason I made a general prediction of where the MN NSIC teams would be in the tiers of Conference. St Cloud was one of the "So you're saying there's a chance?" squads, and boy did they take their chance. Credit to an incredible leap forward from the Huskies, who didn't make the NSIC Tournament last year, and now are the #2 ranked squad in the Central Region with the posibility of an At Large bid to the NCAAs. Two weeks from now, the Division 2 NCAA Tournament will kick off all around the Country, and five Minnesota squads, including the rising Huskies, still have a chance of being there. St Cloud State enters the playoffs as the (surprise?) Northern Sun Regular Season Champs with MN State Mankato just behind them by a point. 4th place Bemidji State finished just 3 points ahead of 7th place Concordia St Paul in a tough middle of the table fight, and UMD just beat out Southwest MN State and Wayne for the 8th and final postseason spot. With the playoffs starting Monday, November 6th, we’ll dig into the D2 Minnesota squads NCAA chances, and set up the matchups for the ‘23 NSIC Tournament. Lastly, thanks to St Cloud State and the NSIC, you can hear Matt and Mark Privratsky on the call for the St Cloud State v UMD game this Monday at 2pm (and potentially more to come?) on the NSIC Network App or NSICNetwork.com. ​

The NSIC Tournament kicks off this Monday, November 6 on the NSIC Network and at 4 home sites around the Conference. St Cloud hosts UMD at 2pm, Bemidji hosts Augustana at 3pm, MN State Mankato hosts Concordia St Paul at 3pm, and Northern State hosts U Mary at 4pm. All of these games are easily streamed at NSICNetwork.com or on the NSIC Network App. The four quarterfinal winners will face off on Friday, November 6 Semi Finals, with the Champion determined on Monday, November, 12th. We break down each Minnesota squad's below with their key players and best results from the '23 season. Place your bets on the number of Minnesota squads in the field for the 2023 NCAA Tournament (over/under 2.5?)

Mark Privratsky

​If you talk to players and coaches in the Northern Sun, you will run across the saying, “anything can happen in the NSIC”. While we typically take that to expect an odd upset or a scrappy draw from a lower table squad, this year it seems a bit more significant. Last years NSIC tournament field featured #4 seed Minot State, #6 Winona State and #7 U Mary (and yes the table was tight overall in terms of seeds). Having played over half of the conference season, all 3 sit outside of playoff contention, having won just 1 of their first 7-8 games. Who’s to blame for the apple cart wobbling? St Cloud State sits atop the NSIC at 6-1-1 after missing the playoffs last year, Northern State is unbeaten in 8, and both Wayne State and Sioux Falls are sneaking out results that they didn’t last year. Bemidji and Mankato remain unbeaten, Concordia St Paul is holding their own at 3-2-2, while UMD, Moorhead State and Southwest MN State sit just outside the 8 team playoff field. The next two weeks will show us if St Cloud is as serious as they look, if the mid table Minnesota squads can step up, and if Bemidji and Mankato take their typical places at the top of the NSIC Tournament bracket.  

​Coming into last Sunday, Moorhead players likely felt like they deserved a few more points from their season so far. In NSIC play, they give up less than a goal a game, and have had solids results. They lost 1-0 to Northern State and Bemidji State, both teams in solid top 4 positions. They drew Wayne State and Sioux Falls, both in playoff spots, and now finally, victory. Moorhead gets their first win of the Conference season in the annual Northwest Minnesota Derby. MN Crookston and MN State Moorhead play for the epic “ Highway 75 Rivalry Rock”. For squads who don’t typically challenge for the NSIC crown, this is a great chance to win silverware. The current wrinkle to this rivalry features a certain all time leading scorer for one squad coaching on the other side and that makes it all the more dramatic (dig into the Equal Time archives). The Dragons face UMD this Friday in a game with huge playoff berth implications. 

​Call me a Coach with a cliche in hand, but sometimes a tie feels like a win. St Cloud State is in the midst of a renaissance year, with 6 wins in their first 8 NSIC games, including a huge draw in Mankato, where no one likes to play on the Mavericks “Pitch”. The results may very well have been a confidence boost, as they followed it up with an away Sunday afternoon win over Concordia St Paul. In past years, the Huskies probably dreaded the toughest road trip you can take in the NSIC, and this year they got 4 points. St Cloud is a consistent and balanced team. In attack, they’ve got five players making 4 or more goal contributions in 12 games. They’ve got a First Year keeper Jaylee Strickland from Columbus, Ohio who has started every game for them and backstopped a defense that gives up less than a goal a game. This weekend they face a huge test at Northern State before facing a pretty manageable back stretch that features Moorhead, Sioux Falls, Southwest MN State, Winona State and Crookston. St Cloud looks legit and is primed to be in a good spot for the NSIC Tournament. 

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​The Beavers have been here before. They know the NSIC season is going to at times be a grind, like a 5 hour bus drive to Marshall that ends with a 1-1 draw to end September, or the possibly too close for comfort 1-0 win over Moorhead at home last Friday. However, they remain unbeaten in NSIC play after a home draw with (also unbeaten) Northern State this past weekend put 2 points back of St Cloud with a game in hand . Their ultimate goal is another trip to the NCAA’s and they know the most important thing is to be in form when it counts. This weekend the Beavers go to North Dakota  to face down on their fortunes Minot State and U Mary, who’ve both dropped early results this year in the NSIC. The weekend of October 20 brings Augustana and Wayne State to town for two big home games.  

The Bulldogs had a brutal road trip to end September, losing to perennial contenders MN State Mankato and Concordia St Paul. Cue a visit from the North Dakota schools and a potential Equal Time Bump and you’ve got a renewed playoff race for UMD. After the tough road losses, we talked to Jackie Jares about the challenge of taking a step up in this league, and how she leads this team as a Captain. That weekend she score the lone goal against U Mary to secure a much needed point at home. Jackie and the dogs followed that up with a big 1-0 win over Minot to put themselves just outside the playoff spots. This weekend UMD travels to Moorhead and Northern State in two difficult games. Next weekend they host Southwest MN State and Sioux Falls in what will be must win games. Get to know UMD's leading scorer Anna Tobias below on "Bark and the Bite"!

Mark Privratsky

When we're only 3-4 games into Northern Sun Conference play, it can be dangerous to draw conclusions, but it can still be fun to try! Minnesota State Mankato has faced a huge run of 7 games from non conference to the start of NSIC, they've only scored 5 goals, and yet they are winning and ranked #12 (credit to Mackenzie Rath and the team's defending!). Bemidji State hasn't lost a beat, staying undefeated overall and getting a couple good wins over Minot and St Cloud. Meanwhile the two big non Minnesota rivals for the NSIC: Augustana and Minot State, have been tripped up with a couple losses in the first two weekends, a welcome "change" for the Minnesota schools. Playoff hopefuls St Cloud State are off to a 6-2 start and face huge tests this weekend as they host both MSU Mankato and Concordia St Paul. Check out results from the last two weeks, stat leaders, games to watch and more!

​St Cloud just missed the NSIC playoffs last year and they look dead set on changing that in ‘23. They started conference play with a huge win over another mid table playoff hopeful in UMD, lost a respectable 2-0 game at Bemidji State, before beating Wayne and most notably, beating Augustana 2-1 at home last sunday. That win surely earned the respect of some coaches, as they shot up to #5 in the Central Region Coaches Poll. If they take care of business this weekend, they’ll likely find themselves with national consideration, but that will be easier said than done. St Cloud hosts Concordia St Paul this Friday, who are hungry for points after winning only 1 of their first 4 NSIC games. The Huskies then travel to the nationally ranked Mavericks of Mankato this Sunday (kickoff 3pm), so we should know plenty about how St Cloud State stacks up after this weekend.

​If I were to tell you that MN State Mankato would score 5 goals in their last 7 games, you’d probably both think I’m crazy and that Mankato must be struggling. On the contrary, this is just a different version of the nationally ranked Mavs than you’re used to. After the murderers row of non conference opponents, they’ve just played about the toughest 7 games they could without yet facing Bemidji State, beating (at the time #20) Augustana in Sioux Falls and dispatching Concordia St Paul away, along with a draw at stingy Minot State. While the offense still needs to find it’s form in conference play, we can tell you a big reason the team is still #12 in the country: defense. Credit the team for an incredible 2 goals given up over 8 games, lead by the 2022 NSIC Keeper of the Year Mackenzie Rath who has an insane .949 save percentage on 37(!) saves. You don’t usually see a keeper on a top team face so many shots, but that shows the schedule this squad has faced. The Mavs face St Cloud and UMD at home this weekend in must see games. 

​Wins are hard to come by in the NISC, as are goals scored against Minot State, but the Mustangs of Marshall did both last weekend, winning 2-0 in Minot. Southwest had yet to win a game this year after leading the bottom part of the NSIC table last year with a 3-8-4 in the conference. The path to the postseason will require Southwest to take the winnable games each weekend, as the next two weeks feature Bemidji State and Mankato, but also must win games against MN Crookston and Sioux Falls. After that they face Winona, Concordia St Paul, MN Duluth, and St Cloud State, who all look to be fighting for the postseason.

With so many good players and teams to cover, it's tough to watch a lot of games. Thus, we have to trust in stats to highlight players! This week it's points and saves. The NSIC is looking balanced in attack so far, with Katarina Barthelt of Bemidji State holding the top spot. However, I'd keep an eye on veteran Allie Williams and Avery Korsching of MSU Mankato, who've has faced a brutally tough schedule and has a lot of easier wins in front of her. Anna Tobias (5 goals) of UMD has already passed her totals from the last two years (4 each) after a hat trick vs Crookston, and has a few other teammates regularly contributing goals. 

The 2022 NCIS Keeper of the Year award appears to be awarded correctly, as Mackenzie Rath is at it again. Through a brutal stretch of games where her squad had to fight for every goal, her saves at the back and the work of her defenders in front of her have to be applauded. She boasts a .949 save percentage with 37 saves in games we know were at a high level. Edie Frantzen of Bemidji State has been rock solid as well, giving up only 2 goals in 7 games, so if anybody could knock Rath off of the pedestal, you'd bet on Frantzen as of now. Credit as well to Abby Olson of UM Crookston, who made 18 saves in a loss to UMD. The Golden Eagles lost 5-0 but clearly fought off plenty more in a stamina challenging performance from Abby Olson and the Crookston defense. 

Your home for NSIC soccer is the NSIC Network or the NSIC Network App! The Northern Sun is the easiest college soccer to watch, as all the games are free and fully produced for web streaming or app connections. Over the next two weeks we will see if St Cloud State can stay winning against tough opponents, UMD will look to climb into playoff contention, and we will see the Hwy 75 Rivalry Rock game between MSU Moorhead and UM Crookston!