SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The opening week of Summit League play concluded with Denver atop the standings at six points following two road victories. Omaha sits in second with four points after posting a win and a draw, while South Dakota State, Oral Roberts, and South Dakota each collected three points with victories in their lone matches of the week.
The Pioneers host Kansas City Thursday night in the Mile High City before taking on Oral Roberts on Sunday, who is fourth in the conference standings. South Dakota State will also host a pair of home matches against North Dakota and North Dakota State.
All nine Summit League squads will be in action this upcoming week. Each match will be available to watch on the Summit League Network.
Around The League
• Denver won both Summit League matches at North Dakota (1-0) and at North Dakota State (2-1), catapulting them to first in the league standings.
• The Pios overcame an early deficit to earn the 2-1 comeback win at NDSU. Brooke Ahern tallied her third goal of the season to even the match, while Emma Thielbahr netted her fourth goal (her team-leading second game-winner of the year) to secure the victory for DU.
• SDSU opened its Summit League slate with a 6-0 rout of St. Thomas in Brookings.
• The 6-0 victory featured six different Jacks finding the back of the net, pushing SDSU to a 1-0 league mark and 7-1-3 overall record. Goalkeeper Mallorie Benhart earned the cleansheet, jumping into a tie for second in the Summit League with four shutouts in overall matches.
• Omaha jumped to second place in the Summit League standings with four points following a 1-0 shutout win at North Dakota State and a 0-0 draw at North Dakota.
• Senior Lindsey Birch scored the only goal of the week for the Mavs, which was her first goal of the season. Goalkeeper Charlotte Huggard grabbed nine saves across the first two matches of league play for OMA.
• Oral Roberts completed a 2-1 comeback victory to take down Kansas City on the road in their only match of the week.
• Precious Edosa leveled the match 23 seconds prior to halftime for ORU before Luci Rodriguez completed the comeback in the 65th minute for the Golden Eagles.
• Kansas City’s Ashley Koch scored her sixth goal of the season against ORU, moving into a tie for second place in the Summit League in goals scored.
• USD joined SDSU and ORU to begin conference play at 1-0 after taking down the Tommies 2-0.
• Sophomore Gabbie Ryan and graduate Ashby Johnston logged goals for the Yotes while redshirt sophomore Cambell Fischer collected two saves.
• The Tommies dropped both matches against South Dakota State and South Dakota to open league play.
• St. Thomas remains a threat on offense as they rank fourth in Division I in shot accuracy (.581).
• Preseason favorite North Dakota State fell at home to Omaha (1-0) on Thursday and Denver (2-1) on Sunday, extending their losing streak to five.
• The Bison have a chance to bounce back and snap the skid at South Dakota on Thursday before heading north to Brookings on Sunday to face the Jackrabbits.
• North Dakota’s backline held opponents to only one goal in the first two matches of league play as the Fighting Hawks fell to Denver (1-0) and earned a scoreless draw against Omaha.
• The UND defense is anchored by goalkeeper Grace Miller. The sophomore grabbed three saves against the Pioneers and four saves against the Mavericks, ranking third in the league in saves (52) and first in shutouts (5).
This Week In The Summit League (All Times Local To Site)
Thursday, Oct. 2 | TV/Stream
North Dakota State at South Dakota | SLN | 6 p.m.
Oral Roberts at Omaha | SLN | 7 p.m.
North Dakota at South Dakota State | SLN | 7 p.m.
Kansas City at Denver | SLN | 7 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 5 | TV/Stream
Omaha at St. Thomas | SLN | 1 p.m.
North Dakota State at South Dakota State | SLN | 1 p.m.
North Dakota at South Dakota | SLN | 1 p.m.
Oral Roberts at Denver | SLN | 1 p.m.
ALL TIMES ARE LOCAL TO SITE
Key: SLN (Summit League Network)
Results
Thursday, Sept. 18
St. Thomas 2, Western Illinois 0
Wyoming 0, South Dakota State 2
North Dakota State 0, Washington State 2
Friday, Sept. 19
(RV/NR) Colorado State 1, Omaha 1
Saturday, Sept. 20
Northwest Missouri State 1, Oral Roberts 5
Sunday, Sept. 21
Kansas City 2, Northern Colorado 2
Wyoming 1, South Dakota 1
Thursday, Sept. 25
Denver 1, North Dakota 0
Omaha 1, North Dakota State 0
St. Thomas 0, South Dakota State 6
Saturday, Sept. 27
Oral Roberts 2, Kansas City 1
Sunday, Sept. 28
Denver 2, North Dakota State 1
Omaha 0, North Dakota 0
St. Thomas 0, South Dakota 2
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