PRESS RELEASE

BURNSVILLE, Minn. – The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference released the 2024 Preseason Soccer Coaches’ Poll on Tuesday with Northern State University picked seventh. The Wolves tallied 129 points in the team voting and senior Megan Fastenau was named the Preseason Player of the Year. In addition, Alexus Townsend was selected as the second player to watch for the Wolves.

To read the entire poll and players to watch, click on the following link:

https://northernsun.org/news/2024/8/8/womens-soccer-2024-nsic-soccer-preseason-coaches-poll.aspx

In 2023, NSU went 9-4-5 overall and 8-1-5 in the Northern Sun finishing third in the NSIC Standings; the program’s highest finish since the 2007 season where they took second. The Wolves were named to the NCAA Regional Ranking list each week and just missed qualifying for the NCAA Central Region Tournament. Alexus Townsend became the Northern State school record holder for career ties (15) and career shutouts (23) with one season to play in the maroon and gold, and seven were honored on the All-Conference teams. In addition, six Wolves garnered national recognition on the USC All-Region and CSC Academic All-District®, and Mia Zagorski and Calista Kocmick capped off the year with Academic All-America® nods.

NSU COACH BOB CASPER’S THOUGHTS HEADING INTO 2024:

• On the Team: “The 2024 Wolves are an exciting group to think about here in the weeks before we officially begin. The team will have a good amount of new faces, and some players who really made some positive strides in our off-season work. Our schedule looks great with some very talented opponent in our non-conference, and as always a very difficult NSIC schedule. If we show up every day ready to work and improve, then our team will give itself a chance to have a great season. We will feature 9 seniors this season who play across nearly every line of our formation, so we are really looking forward to seeing them play at a high level this season.”
• On Megan Fastenau: “Megan is a player who leads not only our attack, but our entire training and playing environment. She sets the tone with her aggressive mindset at training, in the weightroom, and during matches. Megan has also worked on expanding her game while maintaining a focus on fundamentals. She is always up for the challenge, and will do a great job leading during her senior season.”
• On Alexus Townsend: “Alexus has been a mainstay in the goal the past three seasons, and she’s gained a tremendous amount of experience and poise. She shows up in the big moments, and knows how to manage a match from her position. She’s great not only at shot stopping, but also directing the traffic in front of her goal. She works hard every training to make sure she is fine tuning her technique, and also making sure she’s physically and mentally prepared for every scenario.”

The 2024 NSIC Soccer Regular Season Champion will be determined by a 14-match league schedule, with a win earning a team three points and a tie one point.

The 2024 NSIC Soccer season will see its first non-conference action on Thursday, Sept. 5 with NSIC action beginning on Friday, Sept. 20. 

The NSIC Tournament is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 11, Friday, Nov. 15 and Sunday, Nov. 17. The top four seeds shall host a first round match, followed by the semifinal and championship rounds at the campus of the highest remaining seed of the four quarterfinal winners.