“We knew we were going to have a good team, when you have seven seniors and six of them starting, we had very high expectations and felt like the sky was the limit for us,” said head coach Jim Stone.
A look back at the season:
The BSU soccer team went on an offensive blitz out-scoring their opponents 18-5 to start the 2010 campaign with a perfect 6-0 record. Those six games really showed the true potential as BSU knocked-off Division I opponent North Dakota in the opening game 3-1. All three goals where scored by different players. Freshman Jessie Voeller (Fwd., White Bear Lake, Minn.), made quite a debut for the Beavers, scoring the team’s first goal of the season.
After defeating the Fighting Sioux for the second time in school history, BSU then defeated Viterbo University at home 3-2. Even with the two wins, the Beavers weren’t satisfied with their defensive play and after making some adjustments went on to claim three-straight clean sheets.
With a 5-0 start in hand the Beavers were then faced with a daunting task, hosting nationally ranked and defending conference champions Winona State on Sept. 19. The Warriors came to the BSU Soccer Complex ranked No. 24 in the nation, but that didn’t deter the white-hot BSU offense. In the 25th minute, forward-turned-defender Brianna Duff (Jr., Ramsey, Minn.) netted the early goal for the Beavers. BSU’s Ashlee Ellefsen (Sr., Fwd., Hugo, Minn.) and Bri Scanlan (Jr., Mid., East Grand
Forks, Minn.) netted consecutive goals to start the second half and put the game away for Bemidji State. It was the program’s second-ever win against Winona State, with the first coming a season prior.
Just as the Beavers were in top gear, cruising through the start of the season, they hit their first bump in the road. After defeating the Warriors 3-2, the Beavers looked to easily handle Upper Iowa the
following day. BSU’s Jenny Stromberg (Sr., Fwd., Elk River, Minn.) scored in the first 25 minutes of the game and everything was looking the way it should for the Beavers. However, the pesky Peacocks answered both Beaver goals with a goal of their own and sent the game into overtime. In overtime the Peacocks squeaked in a goal and handed Bemidji State its first loss on the season.
The Beavers knew that the rest of the season was only going to get tougher and in hindsight the loss may have proved more valuable than first thought. It gave coach Stone and the squad some time to step back
and reevaluate how they were going to approach the rest of the season, as the very next weekend BSU had two very tough road games against Concordia University and St. Cloud State.
“I think it helped the players understand what the coaches had already been telling them, that you need show up for every game and you’re capable of beating every team, but every team is also capable of beating you. It helped us sharpen our focus and gave us a more balanced approach to each game,” Stone added.
Heading on the road after suffering its first loss, Bemidji State showed its resilience and powered past both Concordia University and St. Cloud State by scores of 1-0. Bethany Fluto (Jr., Fwd., Bemidji, Minn.) scored her second collegiate goal as she netted the game winner against the Golden Bears and Ellefsen scored the game-winner against the Huskies. Samantha Ross (Sr., GK, Stillwater, Minn.) had an easy job in net over those two games as the BSU defense limited her work to just six saves on the weekend for both shutouts.
The next weekend featured a home series against two very strong defensive teams, Northern State and University of Mary. Bemidji State knew going in that both games would be difficult, but winnable; and
that’s exactly what they were. Both games went into overtime, but unlike the last overtime BSU went in, the Beavers came out on top in both games to improve their record to 10-1-0 on the season.
With a nearly spotless record the Beavers were sitting tied for first place with Minnesota Duluth, who also had a matching conference record of 7-1-0. Looking to extend its winning streak and stay atop the
standings, Bemidji State hit the road for a pair of games against Wayne State (Neb.) and Augustana College. However, the game against Wayne State saw the Beavers suffer their second loss of the season as the Wildcats stunned BSU by a score of 2-1. Luckily for the Beavers their first-place aspirations stayed intact as the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs also faltered on the same day in their match against Augustana. The next day saw Bemidji State shutout the Vikings as the Bulldogs defeated Wayne State. With the win, the Beavers clinched a playoff berth.
Making playoffs was almost a given for the Beavers when they started the season, the main goal they were out to reach was finishing in the top four and potentially having a run at the regular-season championship. That goal would be put on the line the following week as the Beavers traveled to take on their top-of-the-standings partner, Minnesota Duluth.
The game was hard fought and neither side looked to take a clear advantage. With the minutes winding down and the game looking like it was headed to overtime, the Bulldogs got a lucky break and found the back of the net in the final minute of play to secure a 1-0 win over the Beavers. Heartbroken, Bemidji State returned home the following day for a nonconference match against Minot State. The Beavers bounced back after their defeat to send the 2010 seniors off in shutout fashion beating Minot State 1-0 on senior day.
Knowing they already qualified for the playoffs, the Beavers hit the road for the final weekend of conference play. Traveling to Southwest Minnesota State and finishing the regular season off at Minnesota State, the Beavers still had a good shot at finishing in the top four of the standings, which meant hosting the first round of playoffs.
All season Southwest Minnesota State had been at the bottom of the standings in the NSIC without a single win. But with three conference ties, the Mustangs were particularly good at giving strong teams
trouble. And trouble is just what the Mustangs gave the Beavers. The game resulted in a 1-1 tie as Bemidji State struggled to get its offense going.
With the tie, it meant that the final game against Minnesota State would determine who finished in third place in the conference as the Mavericks were currently sitting in fourth place right behind the Beavers. Entering the game BSU had never claimed a victory over MSU.
Saving her best for last, Samantha Ross made a career-high 12 saves in the contest to record the 10th shutout in her four years at BSU as the Beavers went on to claim a 1-0 victory and a third place finish in the NSIC.
The rest of the conference standings played out over the weekend and the Beavers found out that they would be hosting Augustana College for the first round of the NSIC / US Bank Women’s Soccer Tournament. Bemidji State felt confident after having defeated the Vikings 1-0 in Sioux Falls, S.D.
The scoring started early for Bemidji State as Ellefsen netted her 40th career goal to give the Beavers a 1-0 lead just six minutes into the game. However, Augustana clamped-down defensively and kept BSU from scoring for the remainder of the half. Entering the second half the Vikings found an equalizer and Bemidji State started having flash backs to last year’s first-round playoff game that saw the Beavers
eliminated via penalty kicks after a 1-1 tie to St. Cloud State. Not wanting to repeat history, seniors Ellefsen and Stromberg connected in the 82nd minute to advance BSU on to the semifinals.
All top four seeds in the tournament advanced, which meant that Bemidji State would get another shot at rival Minnesota Duluth. The Bulldogs and Beavers would play in the semifinals which were held in Winona, Minn.
Opening the first half, the Beavers started a bit flat and the Bulldogs took advantage of this netting a lucky goal that was deflected on its way to the net. Down a goal at halftime Bemidji State battled back and took control of the game in the second half completely dominating the play. The defense did not allow UMD to get a single shot on target in the half. Unfortunately, the Beavers didn’t get any lucky bounces and were unable to find the tying goal.
Even though the season ended on a bitter note and the Beavers knew they had played well enough to win and given their best, the 2010 season was still one for the record books. It was one of the best all-around team performances that coach Stone has seen in his many years at BSU.
“We had a great team and I think we were a few plays away from winning a conference championship for the first time,” Stone said. “At the end of the day, you have to look at the positives and understand that it was a great season. It laid the foundation to taking another step toward what we want to accomplish here: winning the conference getting to the NCAA tournament.”
Season high points:
There were 18 different players to record points for the Beavers, including three freshmen. 13 different players scored goals.
The Beavers picked up numerous postseason honors as Ashlee Ellefsen was named the 2010 NSIC Offensive Player of the Year and All-NSIC First Team. Alysha Domiano was named All-NSIC Second Team while Jamie Ford was named All-NSIC Third Team. Keeper Samantha Ross picked-up All-NSIC
Honorable Mention. Ellefsen was also named to the All-Tournament Team.
Ellefsen was the first player in school history to be named NSIC Offensive Player of the Year and the first to eclipse the century mark in points tallying 104 in her four years. She also owns the school
records for career goals (40), career assists (24) and career game-winning goals (14). She played a major role in Bemidji State’s success this season. The senior led the conference in shots per game (4.23) and was second in assists with six. She was also tied for fifth in points (1.23) and seventh in goals (5). She ended her NSIC career tied for fifth with conference goals (23), tied for ninth in conference assists (13) and in seventh with points (59).
Along with Ellefsen, Jamie Ford etched her name in the BSU record books. Ford finished second in career points (77), second in career assists (23), fourth in career goals (27) and first in single-season
assists (10). She was also named All-NSIC Third Team this season.
Jenny Stromberg surpassed her career-goals total from the three previous seasons. Stromberg entered her senior year with four goals and scored six this year, including three game-winners.
Samantha Ross recorded a career high 12 saves in Oct. 31 game against Minnesota State to pick up her 10th career clean sheet. She ended her career atop the goaltending records at BSU with career-goals against (0.958), save percentage (.867) and longest shutout sequence (523:07). She is also second in career wins (32) and tied for second in career shutouts (10).
Alysha Domiano ended a two-year scoring drought this year picking up two goals, including one game winner.
Bri Scanlan score both goals for the Beavers over the Oct. 30-31 weekend. The game-winner against Minnesota State was her third of the season and the fourth of her career.
Scoring her second goal of her career, Bethany Fluto knocked in the game-winner at Concordia University on Oct. 2. Both of her career goals have been game winners and came this season.
Freshman Jessie Voeller had a great first year for the Beavers, netting two goals and picking up two assists in her rookie season.
Samantha Lumberg (Fr., D/M, Woodbury, Minn.) picked up her first collegiate point on Sept. 18 when she assisted on the second goal of the game against MSU Moorhead.
The Sept. 7 game against Minnesota, Crookston saw Mallory Lowe (So., Def., Lino Lakes, Minn.) and Danni Steele (Fr., M/D, Mankato, Minn.) pick up their first-collegiate points each recording an assist.
Samantha Ross was named NSIC Defensive Player of the Week for her efforts in net against the UMC on Sept. 7. En route to her fifth career shutout, Ross turned away six shots on goal.
Ellefesen was recognized for her production on the field against University of North Dakota and Viterbo University over the Sept. 3-5 weekend. She netted two goals for the Beavers over the weekend, both
proving to be game winners. In Grand Forks, N.D., Ellefsen scored the second goal of the game at the 56th minute mark. Following up against Viterbo, she scored the third goal of the game for the Beavers in the 72nd minute helping clinch the win. On the weekend she had six shots on goal, three in each game.
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