LEADING OFF 

For the second-straight season the Mavericks earned a spot in the Summit League Championship match. No. 4 Omaha upset No. 1 Denver, and No. 2 South Dakota State took care of No. 3 Oral Roberts in the semifinals.  The Mavericks and Jackrabbits will meet at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 5 in Brookings, S.D., with the winner earning the title and the Summit League's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. 

QUICK KICKS 

• The Mavericks played to a 2-2 draw with the Denver Pioneers in the Summit League semifinals last weekend, as Omaha defeated Denver 3-2 in penalty kicks to advance to the championship. 

• It is the third title-match appearance in four seasons for the Mavericks under Tim Walters. Walters enters his fourth league-championship game with a record of 1-2 in the finals. 

• Goalkeeper Mia Reedtz Rehde Olesen made her second postseason start in the draw with Denver. Reedtz recorded a season-high eight saves, including four in overtime to send the Mavericks to penalty kicks. The senior has a record of 3-0-3 through six starts this season. 

• Alyssa Kellar recorded her first goal of the postseason and fifth of the year in the semifinal. Kellar has scored four goals in Omaha's last four matches as the redshirt sophomore ranks second on the team with 15 points in her first season with the Mavericks. 

• Emilie Erland tallied an assist on Kellar's goal and now has three points this postseason after scoring the game-winning goal in the quarterfinals against South Dakota. 

• Summit League Defensive Player of the Year Regan Zimmers scored her first goal of the season at Denver as the defender now has four goals in her career at Omaha. 

• Sophia Green recorded her fifth assist of the year on Zimmers' goal and now has the Mavericks' Division I record for points in a season with 25. The League's Offensive Player of the year recorded her 10th goal of the season in the quarterfinal win over South Dakota.  

• Omaha went 3-0-4 in the month of October as the Mavericks are unbeaten in their last seven matches after a 2-1 loss to Oral Roberts on Sept. 28. 

• The Mavericks were tabbed third in the Summit League Preseason Poll and finished tied for third place with an overall record of 3-1-4 in conference play. 

• Grace Ostergaard, Green and Zimmers were all named First Team All-Summit League on Thursday, Oct. 26 as the league announced its postseason honors. 

• Marissa Gohr earned Second Team All-Summit League, Jordyn West was named to the Honorable Mention Team, and Jasmyn Brown joined Alyssa Kellar on the All-Newcomer Team as seven Mavericks garnered all-league honors. 

• West and Ostergaard have started 77 matches for the Mavericks and share the Division I era program record for career starts. 

SCOUTING THE SOUTH DAKOTA STATE JACKRABBITS 

No. 2 South Dakota State advanced to the Summit League Championship after a 5-2 victory over No. 3 Oral Roberts in the semifinals. SDSU finished second in the Summit League with a record of 4-1-3 in league play. The Jackrabbits are 12-3-3 this season and are unbeaten in their last five matches after a 4-2 loss at Denver on Oct. 5. 

JACKRABBITS TO WATCH 

• Avery Murdzek leads the Jacks with seven goals and 18 points this season. Murdzek recorded a goal and an assist against ORU in the semifinal match. 

• Avery's twin sister Laney Murdzek leads SDSU with five assists. Laney scored her second goal of the year in the 5-2 win over the Golden Eagles last Sunday and now has nine points this season. 

• Goalkeeper Jocelyn Tanner has appeared in all 18 games for the Jackrabbits this season. Tanner averages 0.91 goals-against per game. The senior has made 46 saves this season, garnering a save percentage of .754. 

SERIES HISTORY 
South Dakota State leads the all-time series 9-8-5 over Omaha after a 2-2 draw in the final match of the regular season. Their last postseason meeting was in the 2022 semifinals, when Omaha shut out SDSU by a score of 1-0.