SPEARFISH, S.D. – After back-to-back weekends at the Black Hills Power Sports Complex to conclude the home slate, the Black Hills State University women's soccer team hits the road and travels to Salt Lake City, Utah, to face Westminster on Friday afternoon. The Yellow Jackets will look to play spoiler in the match-up as the Griffins continue to hold an undefeated home record and are still seeking to lock in an RMAC Tournament bid.
 
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
Date/Time/Location: Friday, October 31 / 3 p.m. / Salt Lake City, Utah / Dumke Field
RMAC Network: Beginning in the 2025-26 season the RMAC Network will now move to Pay-Per-View. Fans can purchase a single game pass ($10), monthly ($25) or annual subscription ($130). Individuals with bhsu.edu or yellowjackets.bhsu.edu email address can still take advantage of the Peak Pricing Promotion by using the code Y26-RMACEDU.
 
BLACK HILLS STATE STORYLINES

• Black Hills State enters the contest with a record of 4-7-5 (1-6-3 RMAC), as they played to a 0-0 draw with Western Colorado in their home finale last Sunday afternoon. The tie was their third in their last four games played.
• The Yellow Jackets set a new program attendance record on Friday, October 17, welcoming 446 fans to the Black Hills Power Sports Complex for the senior night match against Colorado Christian.
• Following the cancellation of the Fort Lewis-Colorado Mesa match, the RMAC determined that conference tournament qualification and seeding would be based on points per match rather than total points. The Yellow Jackets currently sit alone in 12^th place with an average of 0.60 points per match. After being in the hunt to make the conference tournament last season, BHSU was picked to finish 11^th in the RMAC Preseason Coaches' Poll.
• The Green & Gold opened conference play with a come from behind 2-1 win at New Mexico Highlands on Friday, September 26, marking their first win in an RMAC opener since 2023. The fourth win on the year also broke the school single-season record and notched the best start to a season in program history. The win marked the final of a 3-game win streak, which marked the longest in program history.
• With wins over Dakota State (4-0) and Montana State Billings (1-0), on Thursday, September 18, and Saturday, September 20, the Green & Gold improved to 2-0 to begin the year at home for the first time in program history. The win over DSU notched the first-ever home opening victory in program history, and the win over MSUB marked the first-ever win over the Yellowjackets in six tries.
• The opening weekend of the 2025 season was just the second time in program history in which the Green & Gold finished undefeated in the opening week of play, drawing at MSU Moorhead (0-0) on Friday, September 5, and defeating Minnesota Crookston (4-1) on Sunday, September 7. In 2023 they also went unbeaten on opening weekend, defeating Dakota Wesleyan (6-0) and Mount Marty (5-0).
• The Yellow Jackets five assists against UMC on opening weekend matched the program single game record which was set last fall against New Mexico Highlands.
• BHSU has scored four goals twice this season, each time with four different players against UMC and DSU.
• Through 16 games this season Black Hills State has recorded 16 goals, 16 assists, 48 points, 244 shots, 93 shots on goal, 66 corner kicks and 65 saves, while on the other hand their opponents have notched 19 goals, 14 assists, 52 points, 166 shots, 84 shots on goal, 63 corner kicks, and 77 saves.
• In 2024 the Yellow Jackets broke the school single-season record for points (51), goals (18), and assists (15). The assist on the goal against MSU Denver by Lawsen Quist broke the team's single season assist record for the second consecutive year.
• 11 different players have scored a goal for the Yellow Jackets this season, including Peyton Hill (4), Leah Day (2), Kayla Truong (2), Aubri Roth (1), Ella Cornelius (1), Jayda Hammer (1), Bria Sargent (1), Ally Boysen (1), Whitney Hansen (1), Audrey Sillanpaa (1), and Ainsley Wilson (1).
• Of the 11 goal scorers, eight have found the back of the net for the first time in their career in 2025, including Boysen, Cornelius, Hansen, Hill, Roth, Sargent, Truong, and Wilson.
• Additionally, nine different players have notched an assist this season for the Green & Gold, including Roth who leads the team with three on the year.
• Hill currently leads the team with ten points on the year by way of her four goals and two assists.
• After a goal on the road at UCCS, Truong joined Hill and Day as the only three players on the team with both multiple goals and assists this season.
• Cornelius and Hill each recorded both a goal and an assist against UMC, while Day notched a goal and an assist against DSU. After happening only once prior to head coach John Hutchison's arrival, the match against the Golden Eagles marked the fourth time under his watch that multiple players have recorded both a goal and assist in the same match.
• Through 16 matches, 2024 Honorable Mention All-RMAC selection, Ainsley Wilson leads the team with 1,431 minutes played on the field, while Katy Vinton has also played 1,164 minutes on the back line of the defense.
• Rian Barthel has made eight starts and Karsyn Fraser-Slothower has made seven starts respectively in goal this year, each playing the entirety of their matches. Barthel broke the school single season record with her fourth shutout on the year occurring against WCU last Sunday. She also became the first freshmen to post a shutout in a season opener in program history. Barthel holds a 0.822 save percentage and a 1.00 goals-against average with 37 saves. Fraser-Slothower kept Northwestern Oklahoma State off the scoreboard for the first time this season earlier this year as she has tallied a 0.667 save percentage and a 1.43 goals-against average with 20 saves.
• Zoe Wiggall made her first appearance and received the start in goal on senior night, making eight saves for a 0.889 save percentage and a 1.00 goal against average.
• 2025 marks the first time in program history that two or more goalkeepers have notched multiple wins in a season.
• This year the BHSU defense has recorded a school record five shutouts, limiting their opponents to 10.4 shot attempts and just 5.3 shots on goal per game.
• The Yellow Jackets four goals allowed against UCCS and CMU were the most this season and just the third and fourth times that multiple goals have been surrendered. Their 12 games of zero or one goals surrendered are the most such games in program history in a single year.
• John Hutchison is in his third season as the head coach at Black Hills State, guiding the Yellow Jackets to a record of 10-30-11. Overall, 2025 is his seventh season as a collegiate women's soccer head coach with a career mark of 21-73-19 after spending four prior seasons at Presentation College.

WESTMINSTER STORYLINES

• Westminster enters Friday's match with a record of 6-2-5 (3-2-2 RMAC) following a 2-1 loss at No. 8 Colorado School of Mines last Sunday afternoon.
• The Griffins enter the match-up still undefeated at Dumke Field, sitting at 2-0-3 on the year and having not lost since a 2-1 decision to UCCS on October 27, 2024. WU is 7-1-4 at home since the start of the 2024 season.
• Following the cancellation of the Fort Lewis-Colorado Mesa match, the RMAC determined that conference tournament qualification and seeding would be based on points per match rather than total points. WU currently sits in sixth place with an average of 1.44 points per match as they try to lock down one of the final spots in the conference tournament. They were projected to finish sixth in the preseason caches' poll.
• Through 13 games Westminster has recorded 13 goals, eight assists, 34 points, 188 shots, 76 shots on goal, 54 corner kicks, and 43 saves, while on the other hand their opponents have notched five goals, three assists, 13 points, 101 shots, 48 shots on goal, 44 corner kicks, and 63 saves.
• Only two players have found the back of the net multiple times this season, with Addie McCallister leading the team with three goals and one assist for seven points, while Kara Dickey has scored two goals for four points.
• Gracie East currently leads the Griffins with two assists on the season.
• Marin MacKenzie has started all 13 games in goal for Westminster, recording nine shutouts to rank eighth nationally, while adding 41 saves to post a 0.911 save percentage and a 0.32 goals-against average.
• The only coach in program history, Tony LeBlanc is in his 19^th season as he has guided the Griffins to a 184-115-46 record in his career.

SERIES HISTORY

• Friday will mark the tenth all-time meeting between Black Hills State and Westminster, as the Griffins hold a 9-0 advantage in the series.
• The Griffins secured a road victory in Spearfish at the Black Hills Power Sports Complex last year on November 1, 2024, as they posted a 5-1 win.