Sean Williams/MDN Carter Barley (82) of Minot State gets ready for a faceoff against Liberty on Friday night at the Maysa Arena.

It was a busy weekend for Minot State that featured seasons starting, school records, sweeps, and more. Here’s a breakdown from the action-packed weekend with a variety of accomplishments.

Cross Country

Participating in the Jamestown Kimmie Invitational, the men’s and women’s cross country teams were in action on Friday. The women’s team finished in fourth out of seven teams with a score of 109.

On an individual level, Paulette Dominguez led the way for the Beavers with a time of 19:18.4 which was good for 12th overall. Emery Smith (15th, 19:32.8); Sidra Sadowsky (21st, 20:07.3); Aleisha Ford (23rd, 20:12.1); Monica Okopal (38th, 23:17.7); Nicole Reeves (39th, 23:38.7) all made up the individual finishes for the Beavers.

On the men’s side, the Beavers finished in second as a team with a score of 43 in a field that saw eight teams competing. Leading the way for the Beavers was Jacob Jensen, who finished in second among all individuals with a time of 25:04.0.

Nicholas Merillana (6th, 25:30.3); Trent Holiday (7th, 25:41.3); Charles Hardcastle (10th, 26:09.3); Grayson Bonilla (18th, 27:02.9); Camden Jasmin (25th, 27:40.2); Juan Gutierrez (29th, 27:59.1) were the remaining finishes for the Beavers, who put forth a strong effort with four top ten finishers.

The cross country teams will be off for the next two weeks as they get ready for their final regular season meet, the Mystic-Marauder Invite, hosted by UMary on Oct. 21.

Soccer

Playing excellent soccer as of late and coming off a week that saw themselves ranked No.10 in the Central Region poll, the Beavers soccer team (7-2-4 overall, 7-1-2 NSIC) had two games this weekend.

On Friday, they hosted Augustana (5-5-2 overall, 5-3-1 NSIC). After both teams went quiet in the first half, Sofia Galvez broke the scoreless tie by netting her first goal of the season in the 63rd minute to give the Beavers a 1-0 lead.

The lone goal would be enough, as goalkeeper Maddie Kindred picked up nine saves on 13 shots from the Vikings, while the Beavers finished with 12 shots.

On Saturday, the Beavers were at home once again as they hosted the Wayne State Wildcats (2-7-4 overall, 2-5-3 NSIC). Following a similar script as Friday, while slightly different at the same time, the Beavers would break the scoreless tie in the 12th minute courtesy of a Mila Robichon goal.

Once again, the lone goal was enough as the Beavers took down the Wildcats 1-0 on Sunday. Kindred made seven saves, recording the 19th shutout of her career which is a new Minot State record.

Up next, the Beavers will have a road matchup against No. 13 Minnesota State University – Mankato on Friday, Oct. 13. The match is set to start at 3 p.m.

Women’s hockey

Getting their 2022 regular season started was the Beavers women’s hockey team (1-1 overall, 1-1 conference), who hosted Maryville University on Friday and Saturday in what ended up being a split two-game series.

The lone win of the series for the Beavers came on Friday, as they were on the winning end of a 5-4 contest. Opening up the first period with goals by Matayah Metz, Megan Norris, and Gillian Gervin, the Beavers jumped out to a 3-1 lead as they looked to gain control of the game.

Sydney Spicer would add a goal in the second period and Maryville would get a goal back, making it a 4-2 game heading into the final period. Although Maryville would tie the game at 4-4 in the final period, Camerion Schmidt would net the game winner, as the Beavers never trailed and secured their first win of the season on opening night.

Beavers Goaltender Haylie Biever got the start in net, making 20 saves on 24 shots. The Beavers outshot Maryville 40-24 in total and outshot them in every period.

In a much quieter matchup on Saturday, the Beavers were handed their first loss of the season as the Maryville Saints grabbed a 2-1 victory to end the opening series. After both teams scored a combined four goals in the first period on Friday, the second matchup featured a total of one goal through two periods.

Elle Rutherford of the Saints broke the scoreless tie in the second period, as the Beavers went to the final period looking to get on the board. Anna German would succeed in getting the Beavers on the board by opening up the scoring in period three.

Just over a minute later, Olivia Obrien of the Saints would give her team the lead back, making it a 2-1 game which ended up being the final score. Jordan Ivanco got the start in net for the Beavers, making 19 saves on 21 shots. Both teams ended the night with 21 shots each.

Volleyball

With a weekend that featured two games, the Beavers volleyball team (0-18 overall, 0-11 NSIC) are still searching for their first win, however, they had a remarkable effort on Friday night.

Hosting No. 8 Southwest Minnesota State, the Beavers took them to five sets, but ultimately came up short in what was a thrilling game (25-17, 18-25, 16-25, 28-26, 12-15).

The Beavers were led by Emily Kotelnikoff (14), Hailey Wathen (11), and Alexandra Koontz (9) in kills, Jaina Macaulay (4), Lucia Mercolini (3), and Viktoria Sedova (2) in Aces, Mercolini (26), Macaulay (16), and Wathen (2) in assists, and Koontz (17), Sedova (16), and Wathen (9) in digs on Friday.

On Saturday, the Beavers hosted the University of Sioux falls that would see the Beavers fall in three sets (16-25, 19-25, 10-25). Following an impressive match on Friday, the Beavers struggled to gain a lead during Saturday’s matchup.

They were led by Emily Kotelnikoff (7), Taylor Wyatt (5), and Alexandra Koontz (4) in kills, Viktoria Sedova (1) in aces, Lucia Mercolini (12), Jaina Macaulay (6), Sedova (2) in assists, and Mercolini (8), Jenna Pahlen (6), and Macaulay (5) in digs.

The Beavers will hit the road for their next game, which will take place on Friday, Oct. 14 when they take on Augustana University. The match is set to start at 6 p.m.

Football

Hoping to get their first win of the season, the Beavers (0-6 overall, 0-6 NSIC) hit the road to take on Minnesota State – Moorhead (2-4 overall, 2-4 NSIC). The Beavers, unfortunately, will have to wait another week as the Dragons topped the Beavers 36-14 on Saturday.

Breaking the scoreless tie for the Beavers was Ali Mohamed, who ran one in from 39-yards out to give the Beavers a 7-0 with 12:11 left in the first quarter after the Dillon Fedor kick. In the next quarter, the Dragons would answer as they scored two touchdowns, with the second coming with 5:28 to go in the first half to take a 13-7 lead.

To open up the scoring in the third quarter, Mohamed would run in his second TD of the day, this one from 3-yards out with 11:07 left in the third quarter as the Beavers regained the lead at 14-13.

The lead by the Beavers is the last they would see, as the Dragons went on a 23-0 run to close out the game, scoring two touchdowns and a field goal to close out the third quarter and one more touchdown in the fourth as they finished the day with a 36-14 victory over the Beavers.

Dawson Macleary started at QB for the Beavers, where he completed 25 of 29 passes for 188 yards and two interceptions. Mohamed led the way on the ground, totaling 99 yards and two touchdowns on 21 attempts.

Erik Palmquist hauled in 9 receptions for 67 yards and Nathan Young reeled in 5 receptions for 41 yards to lead the way for the Beavers. Defensively, Charlie Raetzman led the team with 13 tackles. Chase Doty and Lafayette Bade each registered a sack.

Following the loss, the Beavers will head back home for Homecoming and Hall of Fame weekend, where they will host Northern State University. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 15.

Men’s hockey

Following an exciting 4-2 win over the Liberty Flames on Friday, the Beavers (4-0 overall, 0-0 conference) were back in action on Saturday to wrap up their series with the Flames.

The Beavers would strike first in game two when Brayden Pawluk scored his first goal of the season in the first period, with assists by Sheldin Howard and Drew Carter giving the Beavers a 1-0 lead.

Moving into the second period, the Flames would strike back when Matt Bartel scored on a powerplay goal, evening things up at 1-1. The previous night, the Beavers exploded in the second period which proved to be a major key to a victory. This time, they would go silent in the second period but were still right in it.

With under three minutes left in the game, Carter Barley would score his first goal of the season, assisted by Drew Carter to give the Beavers a 2-1 lead. This goal would prove to be the game winner as the Beavers swept a very talented Liberty team in what was a statement weekend in Minot.

Jake Anthony started for the Beavers on Saturday, stopping 20 of 21 shots. The Beavers outshot the Flames 41 to 21.

Looking to continue their perfect start to the season, the Beavers will host Midland University for a weekend series. The first game will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 14 at Maysa Arena.