University of St. Thomas Athletics
Friday, August 25
Portland, Ore. / Hillsboro Stadium
3:00 p.m. Central
at
Portland State
Photo by: Patrick Hart
Game Notes -- Women's Soccer heads to Oregon for pair of non-conference matchups
8/24/2023 12:47:00 PM | Women's Soccer
St. Paul, Minn. -- St. Thomas Women's Soccer (1-1-0) follows up their season-opening homestand with the beginning of what is a long six-game road trip over the next four weeks as they face off with Portland State (0-2-0) and Western Oregon (7-6-5 in 2022) on Aug. 25 (3 p.m. central) and Aug. 27 (2 p.m. central).
The Tommies will match up with the Vikings of Portland State and the Wolves of Western Oregon for the first time in program history.
If you will not be making the trip to the Northwest with the team, be sure to follow along for live streams and stats through links found at tommiesports.com/sports/wsoc/schedule – and on Twitter and Instagram at @TommieWSoccer.
Opening Week Rollercoaster
Coach McGill's squad split the first two games of their 2023 season falling to the Northern Iowa Panthers in a nailbiter, 1-0 and knocking off the visiting Purple Eagles of Niagara by a convincing score of 7-0.
Game One Recap
The Panthers fired the opening salvo of the season in the 38th minute when Marissa Gross scored the only goal of the entire affair.
St. Thomas controlled the action for much of the game and coach Sheila McGill was happy with the effort, "I think we brought it; I think we played well and strong. They had one moment where they scored the goal, but we had great opportunities, and we were creating what we wanted to create."
The Tommies held the advantage in shots (16-7), shots on goal (7-3), and corners (9-2), but the offense could not push a ball past the goal line.
Game Two Recap
In a complete flipping of the script from game one of the season, the Purple had no trouble at all putting the ball in the back of the net on a steaming-hot day out at South Field.
The Tommies scored three goals in the first half and four in the second. Mariah Nguyen got the scoring started in both halves scoring a pair of penalty kick goals in the 6th minute and 46th minute. She added a third goal for good measure just under five minutes later.
Also scoring were Lissa Mizutani, Abby Brantner, Emma Fournier, and CJ Fredkove. Lexi Huber and Abby Hoiska each added an assist and Jasmine Gates contributed two assists in the winning effort.
The Purple outshot the Purple Eagles 22 to seven and put 15 shots on goal to Niagara's five.
Olivia Rowe got her first collegiate win in goal as she made five saves in 73 minutes of work. She was relieved by Olivia Graupmann who did not have to make a save in her 17 minutes in net.
Picking up right where she left off
After scoring her first career hat trick, Mariah Nguyen was selected as the first TicketSmarter Summit League Offensive Peak Performer of the Week in 2023.
She scored three goals in the Toms' 7-0 victory over the Niagara Purple Eagles.
Nguyen was the Tommie's first Peak Performer of the Week selection since McKenna Lehman in 2022. She is now the third overall Tommie selected for the weekly honor, joining Olivia Graupmann, selected in 2021.
Her hat trick was the first for the Tommies since Mallory DeBoom scored three goals in a 5-0 win over Augsburg in 2018.
She was named the Summit League's Newcomer of the Year and was selected to the 11-player All-Newcomer Team in 2022.
A transfer from Bemidji State, Nguyen appeared in all nine Summit League matches for the Toms and led the team in goals (five), points (14), and shots on goal (14). She tied for eighth in league play with eight points, and in all games, she was tied for fifth place in scoring among league players.
The Andover, Minn., native was a big piece of the Toms improvement from 4-12-1 in 2021 to a 6-8-3 record in 2022.
Seven goals should do it
The Tommies' seven goal outburst was the first time in the Division I era that the team scored more than three goals in a single game, a feat they had done four times before. They are 4-0 in such games: 3-0 vs. Wyoming in 2021, 3-0 at Northern Iowa, 3-0 at Green Bay, and 3-2 at North Dakota State in 2022.
The last time the Toms' scored seven goals was back in the Division III era during the 2018 season when they defeated Northland College 7-0. That season the team ultimately finished with a 19-2-1 record ultimately losing in the second round of the NCAA playoffs in penalties to UW-La Crosse.
Scouting the Vikings
The Vikings of Portland State are led by seventh-year head coach Katie Burton and have gotten out to an 0-2-0 start in 2023. They finished 2022 with a 5-8-5 overall record and a 4-2-2 record in the Big Sky Conference. That conference mark secured them third place in the regular season and a spot in the Big Sky Soccer Championships. They lost to the sixth seeded Montana Grizzlies 3-0 in the opening round.
The Vikings return all three of their top scorers from that successful 2022 season: Abi Hoffman (5 goals, 1 assist, 11 points), Raniyah Burton (3G, 0A, 6P), and Ocean Rideout (3G, 0A, 6P). They did not return either of their starting goalkeepers from last season.
2023 has gotten off to a rocky start for the Vikings losing both of their first two games 2-1 to New Mexico State and 5-0 to Seattle. Elle Frazier is currently the team's lone goal scorer. Natalie Cunningham has gotten the starting nod in goal for both games while Eden Millan came off the bench for the second half of game two.
Scouting the Wolves
The Wolves of Western Oregon compete in the NCAA Division II Great Northwest Athletic Conference and finished the 2022 season with a 7-6-5 overall record.
They also return all three of their top scorers from 2022: Chloe Smith (5G, 2A, 12P), Briana Kubli (3G, 1A, 7P), and Savannah Taylor (3G, 1A, 7P).
Western Oregon has not played a game in 2023 and are not set to start their official contest calendar until Friday, Sept. 1.
St. Thomas in the Polls
The Tommies were picked to finish eighth out of nine teams in the Summit League Preseason Coaches' Poll after their 2-6-1 conference record in 2022.
The regular-season conference champion Denver Pioneers were voted to the top of the poll edging out challenger South Dakota State by three points (62 to 59). The Purple finished with 19 votes placing them between North Dakota (20 points) and Kansas City (11 points).
Both Mariah Nguyen and Camryn Rintoul were named Players to Watch by the conference office.
Rintoul played in all 17 matches making 16 starts covering 1,469 minutes in 2022. She scored three goals and added one assist for seven points, recording 37 shots with eight on goal.
The Tommies will match up with the Vikings of Portland State and the Wolves of Western Oregon for the first time in program history.
If you will not be making the trip to the Northwest with the team, be sure to follow along for live streams and stats through links found at tommiesports.com/sports/wsoc/schedule – and on Twitter and Instagram at @TommieWSoccer.
Opening Week Rollercoaster
Coach McGill's squad split the first two games of their 2023 season falling to the Northern Iowa Panthers in a nailbiter, 1-0 and knocking off the visiting Purple Eagles of Niagara by a convincing score of 7-0.
Game One Recap
The Panthers fired the opening salvo of the season in the 38th minute when Marissa Gross scored the only goal of the entire affair.
St. Thomas controlled the action for much of the game and coach Sheila McGill was happy with the effort, "I think we brought it; I think we played well and strong. They had one moment where they scored the goal, but we had great opportunities, and we were creating what we wanted to create."
The Tommies held the advantage in shots (16-7), shots on goal (7-3), and corners (9-2), but the offense could not push a ball past the goal line.
Game Two Recap
In a complete flipping of the script from game one of the season, the Purple had no trouble at all putting the ball in the back of the net on a steaming-hot day out at South Field.
The Tommies scored three goals in the first half and four in the second. Mariah Nguyen got the scoring started in both halves scoring a pair of penalty kick goals in the 6th minute and 46th minute. She added a third goal for good measure just under five minutes later.
Also scoring were Lissa Mizutani, Abby Brantner, Emma Fournier, and CJ Fredkove. Lexi Huber and Abby Hoiska each added an assist and Jasmine Gates contributed two assists in the winning effort.
The Purple outshot the Purple Eagles 22 to seven and put 15 shots on goal to Niagara's five.
Olivia Rowe got her first collegiate win in goal as she made five saves in 73 minutes of work. She was relieved by Olivia Graupmann who did not have to make a save in her 17 minutes in net.
Picking up right where she left off
After scoring her first career hat trick, Mariah Nguyen was selected as the first TicketSmarter Summit League Offensive Peak Performer of the Week in 2023.
She scored three goals in the Toms' 7-0 victory over the Niagara Purple Eagles.
Nguyen was the Tommie's first Peak Performer of the Week selection since McKenna Lehman in 2022. She is now the third overall Tommie selected for the weekly honor, joining Olivia Graupmann, selected in 2021.
Her hat trick was the first for the Tommies since Mallory DeBoom scored three goals in a 5-0 win over Augsburg in 2018.
She was named the Summit League's Newcomer of the Year and was selected to the 11-player All-Newcomer Team in 2022.
A transfer from Bemidji State, Nguyen appeared in all nine Summit League matches for the Toms and led the team in goals (five), points (14), and shots on goal (14). She tied for eighth in league play with eight points, and in all games, she was tied for fifth place in scoring among league players.
The Andover, Minn., native was a big piece of the Toms improvement from 4-12-1 in 2021 to a 6-8-3 record in 2022.
Seven goals should do it
The Tommies' seven goal outburst was the first time in the Division I era that the team scored more than three goals in a single game, a feat they had done four times before. They are 4-0 in such games: 3-0 vs. Wyoming in 2021, 3-0 at Northern Iowa, 3-0 at Green Bay, and 3-2 at North Dakota State in 2022.
The last time the Toms' scored seven goals was back in the Division III era during the 2018 season when they defeated Northland College 7-0. That season the team ultimately finished with a 19-2-1 record ultimately losing in the second round of the NCAA playoffs in penalties to UW-La Crosse.
Scouting the Vikings
The Vikings of Portland State are led by seventh-year head coach Katie Burton and have gotten out to an 0-2-0 start in 2023. They finished 2022 with a 5-8-5 overall record and a 4-2-2 record in the Big Sky Conference. That conference mark secured them third place in the regular season and a spot in the Big Sky Soccer Championships. They lost to the sixth seeded Montana Grizzlies 3-0 in the opening round.
The Vikings return all three of their top scorers from that successful 2022 season: Abi Hoffman (5 goals, 1 assist, 11 points), Raniyah Burton (3G, 0A, 6P), and Ocean Rideout (3G, 0A, 6P). They did not return either of their starting goalkeepers from last season.
2023 has gotten off to a rocky start for the Vikings losing both of their first two games 2-1 to New Mexico State and 5-0 to Seattle. Elle Frazier is currently the team's lone goal scorer. Natalie Cunningham has gotten the starting nod in goal for both games while Eden Millan came off the bench for the second half of game two.
Scouting the Wolves
The Wolves of Western Oregon compete in the NCAA Division II Great Northwest Athletic Conference and finished the 2022 season with a 7-6-5 overall record.
They also return all three of their top scorers from 2022: Chloe Smith (5G, 2A, 12P), Briana Kubli (3G, 1A, 7P), and Savannah Taylor (3G, 1A, 7P).
Western Oregon has not played a game in 2023 and are not set to start their official contest calendar until Friday, Sept. 1.
St. Thomas in the Polls
The Tommies were picked to finish eighth out of nine teams in the Summit League Preseason Coaches' Poll after their 2-6-1 conference record in 2022.
The regular-season conference champion Denver Pioneers were voted to the top of the poll edging out challenger South Dakota State by three points (62 to 59). The Purple finished with 19 votes placing them between North Dakota (20 points) and Kansas City (11 points).
Both Mariah Nguyen and Camryn Rintoul were named Players to Watch by the conference office.
Rintoul played in all 17 matches making 16 starts covering 1,469 minutes in 2022. She scored three goals and added one assist for seven points, recording 37 shots with eight on goal.
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's SoccerWomen's Soccer
Sunday, October 09
Women's Soccer vs. North Dakota State
Sunday, October 31
Women's Soccer vs. North Dakota
Friday, October 29
Women's Soccer vs. Western Illinois
Sunday, October 17
