Soccer clinches first-ever playoff berth

The USD women’s soccer team clinched a spot in its first-ever Summit League Tournament and will take on North Dakota State in the first round on Thursday in Brookings.

“It’s an awesome feeling, I can’t describe it,” senior defender Kasha Meyer said. “It has been our goal every year since I was a freshman, and it is cool that we can accomplish it in my senior year.”

NDSU (12-5-1, 7-0-1 Summit League) comes into the tournament as the top seeded team while USD (8-11, 5-3) earned the fourth and final spot. During the regular season, the Coyotes traveled to Fargo, N.D., and fell to the Bison 1-0 in a game that needed overtime to see its first goal.

“That game we went into overtime, but we feel like we dominated it,” Meyer said “They have one strong forward, and if we can shut her down we feel good about our chances.”

If they make the championship game, the Coyotes will play the winner of South Dakota State and Oral Roberts, the two other teams they lost to during the regular season.

“We think that we can beat any team if we play how we know we can play,” Meyer said.

Winning the Summit League Tournament would give USD a berth in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in its Division I history.

To clinch the fourth spot in the tournament, the Coyotes defeated Fort Wayne in Fort Wayne, Ind., this past Sunday 2-0 on a pair of goals from Corey Strang, who scored in the 35th and 39th minutes. USD was the aggressor in the game on offense outshooting Fort Wayne 22-9.