This week
Augustana (3-3-0, 1-1-0 NSIC) faces a pair of opponents on the road this week, traveling to Minot State (3-2-0 overall) and Wayne State (2-3-1, 0-2-0 NSIC). On Friday, the Vikings will take to the pitch against MSU at 5:30 p.m. in Minot, N.D., followed by a trip to Wayne, Neb., on Sunday to compete against WSC at 1 p.m.
Schedule update
Augustana's game against Minot State is now scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. in Minot, N.D. on Friday. The game was originally scheduled for an 8 p.m. start time.
Series records
Friday will be the first meeting between Augustana and Minot State. The Vikings and Wayne State are an even 3-3-1 in the series. Last season, Augustana hosted the Wildcats and had a 2-1 victory. Brandon Barkus is 2-0-1 against the WSC.
Last time out
The Vikings went 1-1 last weekend to open conference play. Augustana defeated Northern State 2-1 in double overtime on Saturday. The next afternoon, the Vikings were tripped up by U-Mary as Augustana fell 2-0 to the Marauders.
Three for Trom
Mackenzie Trom scored her third goal of the season last Saturday, lifting the Vikings to a 2-1 double-overtime victory over Northern State. She netted the goal in the 103rd minute of action.
Viking firsts
Stacy Dally scored her first goal of 2011 last Saturday to put the Vikings on the scoreboard first against Northern State. She joins Jessie Huff, Kate Timmons, Maren Werth, Aleisha Oehlerking and Payton Pry who also have one goal on the season for Augustana.
Double trouble
The Vikings' double-overtime win last Saturday was the first for Augustana since a 4-3 double-overtime win against St. Cloud State on Sept. 11, 2009. Augustana had been winless in 13-straight overtime contests.
Scouting the opponents
Both Minot State and Wayne State are fresh off a pair of losses last week. MSU lost 2-1 in overtime to Bemidji State and were shutout 1-0 by Minnesota, Crookson. MSU opened its season with three-straight wins. Wayne State wasn't able to find the back of the net once last week. The Wildcats were shutout by U-Mary (0-3) and Northern State (0-2).
Non-conference competition
Minot State is not yet an active member of the NSIC. MSU is currently in the transition from NAIA to becoming a member of DII and will compete as an NSIC opponent beginning in 2011.
Ranked
Augustana checked in at No. 10 in the second Central Region rankings of the season released Sept. 13 by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. Augustana was not ranked in the first poll of the season. Fort Lewis (Colo.) is ranked No. 1 in the poll. Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference opponents Minnesota State (No. 4) and U-Mary (No. 8) were also ranked.
NSIC honors
The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference announced Sept. 12 that Augustana goalkeeper Amanda Wagner was its Defensive Player of the Week for her pair of performances against Minnesota, Crookston and Nebraska-Kearney. Wagner made nine saves and allowed just one goal to help Augustana earn a pair of victories. She made three saves in the Vikings' shutout of UMC and had six saves against UNK, helping the Vikings to their first win of the season. Wagner's save in the 85th minute of action against UNK helped the Vikings keep their lead for a 2-1 victory over the Lopers.
On the roster
Augustana's 2011 roster is its largest in program history with 32 athletes. Out of the 20 players returning for the Vikings, Jessie Huff and Kate Timmons were selected by the NSIC coaches as Offensive and Defensive Preseason Players to Watch, respectively.
The coach
Brandon Barkus is in his sixth season as the head women's soccer coach at Augustana. In addition to his head coaching duties, Barkus is an instructor in the Augustana HPER department, coaches the Dakota Alliance girls' soccer team and serves the South Dakota Youth Soccer Association. Barkus has compiled a career record of 44-46-12 since his appointment as head coach. The Vikings compiled an overall record of 8-9-2 in 2010, including a 7-5-1 mark and a tie for fifth place in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.
According to the coaches
Augustana was selected fourth with 122 points by the league coaches in the 2011 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Preseason Poll.
| Rank |
School |
Pts.
|
| 1 |
Winona State (12) |
168 |
| 2 |
Minnesota Duluth (1) |
146 |
| 3 |
Minnesota State (1) |
141 |
| 4 |
Augustana |
122 |
| 5 |
U-Mary |
115 |
| 6 |
Bemidji State |
111 |
| 7 |
St. Cloud State |
102 |
| 8 |
Upper Iowa |
92 |
| 9 |
Wayne State |
80 |
| 10 |
Northern State |
62 |
| 11 |
Concordia-St. Paul |
53 |
| 12 |
Minnesota, Crookston |
31 |
| 13 |
Minnesota State Moorhead |
29 |
| 14 |
Southwest Minnesota State |
22 |
| |
first-place votes in () |
|
History lesson
Viking soccer enters its 12th year of competition in 2011. Augustana owns an all-time record of 68-131-15 with one NCAA Tournament appearance in 2008.
Captains
Brandon Barkus has announced that senior midfielder Stacy Dally, junior midfielder Jessica Perez and senior defender Kate Timmons are captains of this year's squad. This marks Timmons second season as captain of the Vikings.
Stay connected
Follow Augustana all season long at www.GoAugie.com. The Vikings are also on Facebook and Twitter; just log onto www.facebook.com/GoAugie and www.twitter.com/GoAugie. To catch even more Viking action log onto Augustana's official YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/GoAugie.
Next time
The Vikings will return home to face Winona State and Upper Iowa on Oct. 1 and 2.
