Leading Off
The Mavericks (6-2-3, 0-1-1) only have one match in their second week of Summit League play as they head to Vermillion to face South Dakota (2-5-3, 0-0-1) this Thursday at 6 p.m.

Quick Kicks
• Omaha is coming off a 0-1-1 weekend to open conference play as the Mavericks tied North Dakota State 1-1 on Thursday, before losing just their first home match of the season to first-place South Dakota State 4-1 on Sunday.
• The Mavericks trailed for nearly the entire match on Thursday, entering the final eight minutes down 1-0. An all-time defensive play from Regan Zimmers kept it a one-goal game after quickly she went from one end of the field to the other to make a block right on the goal line. Then, with just 30 seconds remaining, Zimmers headed a free kick from Reagan Bourgeois directly to Alyssa Kellar in front of the net to break the shutout and start conference play off with the tie for Omaha.
• Kellar's goal was her team-leading fourth of the year, tying her for third in the Summit League.
• On Sunday, Lindsey Birch scored Omaha's lone goal of the game just over a minute into the second half. The goal was Birch's first of the season and the second of her career. 
• Marissa Gohr earned an assist on Birch's goal, giving her four on the season and making her the first Maverick this year to reach double-digit points with 10. She is now fifth in the league in points and fourth in assists.
• The loss to SDSU marked the first time all season Omaha allowed more than one goal in a game.
• Maja Baun started both matches last week for Omaha and played all 180 minutes. She picked up six more saves, giving her a .800 save percentage which ranks her fifth in the conference.
• Baun and Mia Reedtz Rehde Olesen combine for a .827 save percentage to just edge out Kansas City's .826 mark for first in the league.


Scouting the South Dakota Coyotes
The Coyotes are fresh off a 0-0 tie at St. Thomas in the opening week of conference play, putting them at 2-5-3 on the season. USD has gone winless over its last six matches, last coming out on top 3-2 vs. Drake on August 29. As a team, South Dakota ranks eighth in the league in goals per game (1.20) and goals allowed (1.70) and last in save percentage (.691).

Coyotes to Watch
Of the nine Coyotes to score a goal this season, fifth-year forward Ashby Johnston leads the way with three goals, as well as pacing the team with seven points. The 2023 All-Summit selection now has 17 goals and 39 points in her career.

Junior midfielder Izzy Quintavalle is second on the team with two goals and  four points as she stands as the only Coyote besides Johnson to score multiple goals on the season.

Sophomore Cambell Fischer and freshman Margot Mulhern have started every match in goal for the Coyotes this season, with the former making seven and the latter making three. Fischer currently has 26 saves on the season vs. 11 goals allowed, giving her a 1.57 GAA and .703 save%, while Mulhern has 12 saves and six goals allowed for a 2.16 GAA and .667 save%.

Series History
The Mavericks own a 21-3-4 all-time record against the Coyotes, including a 9-3-4 mark in the Division I era. Omaha has not lost against South Dakota since 2019, posting a 4-0-2 record in that span. Last year, the Mavericks tied the first meeting 0-0 after Mia Reedtz was perfect in goal. Then, in the quarterfinals round of the Summit League Championship, Omaha won 2-0, with Mia again posting a shutout and Emilie Erland scorning one of the goals.