SPEARFISH, S.D. - Under new leadership with head coach Mike Greco, the Black Hills State University women's soccer team looks to improve on last season and opens its season with a three game series starting with Minot State University at home on Thursday, August 31. From there, the Yellow Jackets hit the road for two games at Northern State on Saturday, September 2 and Wayne State on Monday, September 4.  Kickoff for Thursday begins at 7 p.m. followed by 3 p.m. on Saturday and 2 p.m. on Monday, respectively.

Minot State finished first in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference with a 14-0-1 record and 16-3-1 overall. The Beavers are picked to finish fourth this season according the NSIC preseason coaches' poll.

Senior defender Kelli Creese returns as the top defender for the Beavers. Creese started in all 20 games last season and recorded five points with one goal and three assists. Creese was picked as the NSIC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year. Also returning for the Beavers is junior Ashley Franco. Franco ranked third on the team in points with seven. Franco tallied seven assists.

With the losses of Ninfa Ramirez and Chloe Melton, the Beavers have some big shoes to fill.

Northern State finished seventh in the NSIC with a 7-8 record and 9-9 overall. The Wolves are slated to finish seventh in the Coaches' Preseason Poll.

Redshirt Junior Darian Leschewski is the top returner for the Wolves. Leschewski finished second on the team with 21 points. In 18 games, Darian started 17 and recorded nine goals and three assists. Alongside Leschewski, sophomore Stephany Estrada returns as a middle fielder. Estrada finished third on the team with 12 points. Estrada recorded five goals and two assists.

Senior Justine Charles returns as the goalkeeper taking the place of Stacey Cavill. Charles played in four games last season with one start. Charles registered 241 minutes in the net, made nine saves, and recorded a 1.12 goal against average.

Wayne State College completed the 2016 season with a 9-6-3 overall record and 6-6-3 in the NSIC for a ninth place finish. The Wildcats own a preseason finish of 11^th.

Junior Brooke Buzzell returns as the top midfielder. Buzzell led the team in points with 11, recorded five goals and one assist. Buzzell played in 17 games making 10 starts. Joining Buzzell, junior Natalie Rech finished behind Buzzell with 10 points. Rech registered four goals and two assists in 18 games with 15 starts.

Alexis Strothers is the other returner for the Wildcats. Strothers played in 18 games making 17 starts. Strothers ranked second on the team playing 1609 minutes. In those 1609 minutes, Strothers tallied two points with one goal.

The Yellow Jackets completed their inaugural season with one victory over Dakota Wesleyan and closed out at 1-16 and 0-12 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. They are slated to finish 13^th in the conference according to the preseason poll.

Sophomore Katie Nielson is the top returner for the Green and Gold. Nielson led the team with 11 points. In 13 games played with 11 starts, the Pierre, South Dakota, native scored five goals and tallied one assist.

Joining Nielson, junior Rose Miller ranked second on the team with three goals and eight points. Miller led the team in assists with two and made 16 starts in 17 games.

Sophomore Therese Wilhelmi returns as the Yellow Jacket goalkeeper. Wilhelmi played in 15 games making 14 starts. In her freshman campaign, Wilhelmi recorded 131 saves with a .740 save percentage. The Black Hawk, South Dakota, native registered most of the time in the net with 945 minutes.

Colorado School of Mines was picked as the favorite in the RMAC after finishing 20-3-1 overall and 10-2-0 in the conference. The Orediggers won the RMAC Tournament Championship title for the sixth-straight year and their fourth consecutive regular-season title.

CSM landed four players on the Preseason All-RMAC team. Senior Emily Garnier landed the Preseason Player and Defensive Player of the Year. Garnier led the Orediggers with 26 points with eight goals and a team-high 10 assists.

University of Colorado Colorado Springs senior Grace Ramsden was named the preseason Goalkeeper of the Year. Ramsden notched 87 saves for a .649 save percentage. The Mountain Lions are slated to finish ninth.

After the weekend, the Yellow Jackets travel to Billings, Montana, for a contest against Montana State University Billings and University of Mary on Friday, September 8 and Sunday, September 10. RMAC action opens on September 15, where BHSU will travel to Western State.