The BSU soccer team enters the NSIC tournament in a very different position than they were in last year. Last season, they were the #1 seed, unbeaten, and a lock for the NCAA tournament.

This year as the fourth seed, every game, starting with Wednesday’s opener hosting St. Cloud State, is vital to keep their NCAA tournament chances alive.

Also different this year is how they’re scoring their goals. With no Rachael Norton or Ally Smith in the lineup, the bulk of their scoring this year has come from sophomore Sara Wendt. She’s scored 10 of the team’s 24 goals this year, with five of them begin game-winners. It’s a different role for her after scoring just two last year, and she’ll have to come up big on Wednesday against the Huskies, a team they tied 0-0 in the regular season.

“I try to do my job, everyone has a job on this team and I just try to do mine to the best of my ability,” says Wendt. “It really helps that my teammates have confidence in me and they try to find me the ball.”

“Some of [our scoring growth] has come individually, just realizing ‘who I am’ and ‘how do I fit into this system,’ and some of it has come from a team concept in terms of how do we connect with each other, how do we move better and create space for each other,” says head coach Jim Stone. “It’s been collected and it’s been individual and it’s been a process, but it’s been good.”

The Beavers begin their quest for their first-ever NSIC tournament championship at 3:00 PM at Chet Anderson Stadium.

By — AJ Feldman