BSU Soccer Continues to Build on Previous Success Ahead of Season Opener

BSU women’s soccer has established themselves on the national stage with three straight trips to the NCAA Tournament, ending in trips to the Sweet 16, Elite 8, and last year, the second round. They’re also the back-to-back NSIC Tournament champions and won the regular season title in 2021.

Last year, only nine of the 29 players were upperclassmen, and with a squad that young, many pegged the Beavers as rebuilding, but by year’s end they had proven that wasn’t the case. Now, two weeks into the preseason, they have won all three of their scrimmages against other opponents, putting their growth and maturity on display in the process.

“In the short preseason we’ve had, you can see that experience on the field in terms of the style of play that we play with and the ideas that they bring out of the field and bringing those ideas within kind of the umbrella of how we want to specifically play,” explained head coach Jim Stone. “I think we’re gonna have a really good balance. And, you know, I think we’re a team that’s going to be able to defend well and attack well and and hold the ball well. So I’m excited about all of our lines, including our goalkeepers.”

Despite the previous success, Bemidji State was picked to finish third in the NSIC. The team, however, is more concerned with where they will actually end up and not just where others expect them to be.

“I feel like every year they rank us lower than … not [where we] think that we should be but, lower than we want to be,” said senior midfielder and captain Maria Stocke. “And I think that each year we just try to prove that we can be like that number one spot. So hopefully that’s something we can do this year.”

“It’s something we look at, but … you know, we put the standings to the side and we’re just going to go out there and like, do everything we can to obviously play our best and be the best that we can,” added junior forward and captain Katrina Barthelt. “I mean, again, nothing is given to us. We have to work for everything that we – everything we want to achieve. So I think we’re just going to work as hard and grind out the season and hopefully end up where we want to be.”

One of the places the Beavs would like to be at year’s end is the NCAA Tournament. Their bid for a fourth straight appearance – and seventh overall – starts this Friday, September 6th at home against Missouri Western State. The Beavers tied the Griffons to open the 2023 season.