FARGO, N.D. -- Third-seeded South Dakota State earned a chance to defend its tournament title as the reigning champs knocked out No. 2 seed Denver with a 2-1 victory Thursday in the opening semifinal of the 2024 Summit League Women's Soccer Championship at Decotah Field.

The Jackrabbits withstood a late charge by the Pioneers, who cut their deficit in half with a goal by Jadyn Goodrich in the 89th minute, then saw a Hannah Tate shot go just over the cross bar in the closing seconds as SDSU held on for the victory.

SDSU would get the opening goal from the penalty spot after DU's Jordan Crockett was whistled for a trip inside the penalty box. Kaycee Manding delivered the tally in the 29th minute to put the Jackrabbits ahead 1-0.

The Pioneers had some offensive opportunities throughout the opening 45 minutes but their early chances were nullified by a flurry of offside calls. DU racked up four of those calls before halftime and nine for the match.

DU did outshoot the Jackrabbits 9-8 in the first half and 14-12 overall but the edge in shots on goal went to SDSU at 8-2. 

Emma Thielbahr did put a header off the cross bar in the 35th minute, which was DU's best chance to score before the break despite the Pioneers holding a 9-8 advantage in total shots.

Avery LeBlanc would double SDSU's advantage to 2-0, putting away a rebound off an initial shot from Hailee Christensen in the 61st minute.

Tate's header in the 72nd minute was DU's first official shot on goal of the match, but the attempt was stopped by Stephanie Leckwold, who played the second half in goal for the Jackrabbits. SDSU put eight of its 12 shots on target, forcing Molly Wissman to make six saves in the loss.

The Jackrabbits advanced to Sunday's title game and will face the winner of No. 1 North Dakota State and No. 5 Oral Roberts at 1 p.m. CT.
 
Turning Point

• Avery LeBlanc put away a rebound in the 61st minute and the Jacks would need a two-goal cushion to hold off Denver down the stretch.

Inside the box score

• DU was called for offsides on nine different occassions, including twice in the second half where the Pioneers put shots away for apparent scores.  
• DU goalkeeper Wissman made six saves for the Pioneers, who mustered only two shots on goal compared to eight by the Jackrabbits.
• Denver held a 9-8 edge in shots in the opening half but put zero on frame, while SDSU put five attempts of its eight shots on target.

News & Notes

• Denver won the regular season contest 2-1 in Brookings on Oct. 24, which was the first for the Pioneers' on the Jackrabbits' home field.
• This will be SDSU's ninth trip to the tournament title game where the Jackrabbits are 4-1-3 all-time with four wins in regulation and three more titles clinched via penalty kicks. SDSU won last year's title on its home field, defeating Omaha 1-0.
• This marks just the second time in Denver's Summit League postseason history that the Pioneers lost in regulation as they fall to 10-2-6 all-time. SDSU dealt them their first loss as well, a 4-2 defeat in the 2021 title game.
• The Jackrabbits are now 13-6-6 all-time in Summit League Tournament play and will go for the program's eighth title on Sunday.
• Manding scored for the second-straight game and now has three goals on the season. She had the game-winner in double-overtime against South Dakota in the quarterfinals.

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