The South Dakota State women's soccer team closed out its home schedule in style on Sunday, topping South Dakota 1-0 in dramatic fashion...

On Senior Day at Fishback Soccer Park, the Jacks received contributions from numerous seniors,

After 89 minutes of scoreless soccer, Diana Potterveld stole the ball from a Coyote defender in the penalty box after a SDSU corner kick and scored the lone goal of the game.

The goal was Potterveld's fifth of the season and her second of the weekend. It was also her second game-winning goal of the season and the weekend.

"We made it difficult on ourselves, but the girls never quit," head coach Lang Wedemeyer said. "The fact that we created so many corner kicks at the end of the game was a key for us and we pushed everybody forward. One thing we talked about a lot yesterday was composure in front of the goal. As Diana came off she said, "I started thinking: where does Lang want me to place this?" Sure enough, she had the composure to finish it. You do not see that from freshmen very often. It was a great weekend for her."

The game ended 1-0 in favor of SDSU, keeping its postseason hopes alive.

The first half was rather uneventful, as neither team was able to score.

The scoreless first half was preserved by goalkeeper Tina Ehrett, starting her first game of the season, who made an extended save in a one-on-one situation with nine minutes left in the half.

"I thought Tina did very well," said Wedemeyer. "She made a fantastic save in the first half to keep them off the board, which changed things dramatically. It was her first full 90 minutes in goal as a Jackrabbit, so give a lot of credit to her."

SDSU led in shots (6-4) and corner kicks (2-1), but trailed in shots on goal (2-1). South Dakota was whistled for 10 fouls and no offsides, while SDSU was whistled for seven fouls and two offsides.

Christa Nyblom led the Jackrabbit attack with three shots. Hannah Phillips attempted the lone shot on goal.

Ehrett made two first-half saves.

The second half was more of the same, as neither team was able to generate much pressure for the majority of the half.

After 15 more minutes of scoreless play, the USD attack drew Ehrett away from the goal and attempted a shot on an open net. Katie McNeary made a brilliant play to block the shot and preserve the tie.

It took nearly 30 more minutes, but Potterveld made it worth the wait.

"Diana is a competitor," Wedemeyer said. "She is tough, intelligent and uses her body extremely well, especially for a freshman. She has been a major part of our attack this year."

SDSU led in shots (16-7) and corner kicks (10-1), but trailed in shots on goal (4-3). USD committed 16 fouls and one offsides, while SDSU committed 10 fouls and three offsides.

The 10 corner kicks are a season high for SDSU and the eight corner kicks in the second half tie a season high in a single half. At one point in the second half, SDSU generated three consecutive corner kicks.

Nyblom led the attack with four total shots. Potterveld scored the goal on her lone shot of the game.

Ehrett made four total saves for her first shutout of the season and of her career.

The Jacks improved to 5-9-2 overall and 3-3-1 in The Summit League.
USD dropped to 2-12-3 overall, 1-5-1 in the conference.

SDSU closes out the season at Omaha. Game time is set for 3 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 26, in Omaha, Neb. The Jacks need a win and help to qualify for The Summit League Championship.

"We need to win at Omaha or none of it matters," said Wedemeyer. "We need to go down there and win. We have had a difficult time finding ways to win on the road and Omaha has had a good conference season thus far, so we need to find a way again."