The 15 match gauntlet of the NSIC season is just past the halfway point. With only weeks left in the season we thought it would be a good idea to take a team by team look at how the NSIC has broken down. In no shock at all though the Mavericks continue to dominate the league, and are en route for another regular season title.
NSIC Rankings
Playoff Eight
1st: #7 Minnesota State: 10-1-1 (7-1-1) - 22 pts
Three exhibition wins followed by three non-conference wins opened 2026 for the Minnesota State Mavericks. MSU who was picked to finish first in the NSIC started out conference play on a tear. Six wins in the first seven matches, with their only non-win being a draw at Northern State (SD). Last weekend the UMD Bulldogs upset the Mavericks in Duluth, but MSU started off the weekend with a huge 4–0 win over Concordia-St. Paul.
2nd: Northern State (SD): 7-2-2 (6-2-1) - 20 pts
Northern State find themselves just two points back from the top spot in the NSIC, though are the only team in the top four not regionally ranked. The Wolves went on a seven match unbeaten run, including their draw with MSU in that run, before slipping up last weekend. Northern State rebounded from the loss to Sioux Falls with a win over Minot State to keep themselves in second place. They finish the weekend with 3rd place Mary, which could decide the top two seeds in the conference.
3rd: CR #5 Mary: 7-3-2 (6-2-1) - 20 pts
The Marauders from Bismarck started the season in a rough manner going 1-2-2 in their first five contests of the season. But since then it's been win after win for Mary. UMary are in the midst of a seven match unbeaten run and have turned their home pitch into a fortress, having not lost at home all season. Mary will cap off the weekend with a home match against 2nd place Northern State. Should Mary win they could nearly lock up second place.
4th: CR #8 Minnesota-Duluth: 6-2-4 (5-1-3) - 16 pts
Sitting in fourth place is the only team to bring down the Mighty Mavericks this season in the UMD Bulldogs. Minnesota-Duluth's season has been mixed to say the least. A 1-1-1 record in conference play started the season and that has been followed up by a bumpy NSIC campaign. The Bulldogs are four points back with six matches to play in the conference. While a top three spot isn't out of reach, it is a hard hill to climb.
5th: Augustana (SD): 6-2-4 (4-3-2) - 15 pts
Most recently winning a city showdown with Sioux Falls, Augustana has done okay. But three draws in conference play have hurt the Vikings, who left six points on the able with those draws. Augustana has failed to beat either of the two top four teams they have face to this point, drawing with UMD and losing to Mary. The Vikings schedule eases up for much of the remainder of the season and could provide the Sioux Falls, SD based school with ample opportunity to earn a top four spot in the playoffs.
6th: Concordia-St. Paul: 5-5-2 (4-3-2) - 15 pts
2026 has been all over the place for the Golden Bears. A five match unbeaten run, one with just two wins, started out the season. Since that run the team has lost twice, drawn twice, and won thrice. Though the three wins have all come against bottom eight sides in Minot State, Crookston, and MSU-Moorhead. CSP is set to play their next three matches against top eight teams and they'll go into those three matches coming off a 4–0 loss to Minnesota State.
7th: Bemidji State: 5-4-3 (4-3-2) - 15 pts
Early on this season the Beavers looked like they could be the ones to unseat the Mavericks. Four wins and three draws, with only a single non-conference loss to Missouri Western is close to how Bemidji State aimed to start 2026. But since then the Beavers dam has collapsed and the team has now only managed a single win in their last five played. Bemidji State has a challenging but not frightening end to the season coming up with their toughest match waiting them being the penultimate match of the season at Northern State.
8th: St. Cloud State: 5-3-4 (4-2-3) - 14 pts
SCSU's season through the first month or so of the season has been very meh. The Huskies are just around a .500 winning percentage but don't have a showcase win. On the flip side the Huskies have not been blown out this year, with their largest loss being 2–0 to Northern State back on 18 September. For the most part St. Cloud State has a low key end to the season with only the season finale against rival Minnesota State being against a top NSIC side.
Bottom Eight
9th: Jamestown: 4-3-5 (4-2-3) - 14 pts
The Jimmies second season in the NSIC is off to a much better start than their first. Four wins between all matches may not be a lot, but it is double what they earned last season during their first year in Division II. Jamestown's schedule is set to get progressively harder now. Minot State (14th) and Wayne State (10th) are followed up with four matches against top eight teams. The final four matches with Augustana (SD), Bemidji State, UMD, and Northern State will determine the Jimmies playoff fate.
10th: Wayne State (NE): 4-2-6 (3-2-4) - 11 pts
The Wildcats 2026 season has been anything but great. Wayne State has only earned four wins this season, three against bottom four NSIC teams and one against an NAIA opponent. But the Wildcats pulling two draws in conference play has helped put them in 10th. They are three points out of a playoff spot with six games to go, so the ability to make the playoffs is not gone yet.
11th: Sioux Falls: 4-4-4 (2-4-3) - 10 pts
With a new head coach in 2026 the Cougars are now on their third head coach in three years. Under first year head coach Andy Janssen, Sioux Falls won two of their three pre-conference matches. Since starting NSIC play the Cougars have hit the struggle bus. After beating Crookston in September, they were unable to clinch another win until early October against Northern State (SD). Four out of the final six opponents for Sioux Falls are in the bottom half of the standings, so a winning streak could see the Cougars make the playoffs.
12th: Southwest Minnesota State: 2-3-7 (2-2-5) - 8 pts
This season has not been nice for the Mustangs who find themselves with only two wins with six matches remaining in the season. SMSU went on a six match winless skid to start the season. Losing two of three non-conference matches, during a run where they only managed two draws. SMSU picked up their first win in late September against MSU-Moorhead, then went on another four match skid. While not mathematically eliminated from the playoffs the Mustangs chances of making them are basically zero.
13th: MSU-Moorhead: 3-2-7 (2-1-6) - 7 pts
Dragon soccer is not breathing fire during this season and even the smoke is weak in Moorhead. The Dragons only pre-season win was a non-conference match against fellow NSIC memeber Minnesota-Crookston. During a trip to Montana the Dragons drew one and lost one before winning their NSIC opener in Wayne, NE. However since then it has been bleak for Moorhead as they headed into this weekend's series of matches on a seven match winless skid.
14th: Minot State: 2-2-8 (1-2-6) - 5 pts
The other Beavers in the NSIC, saying that Minot State has struggled this season is an understatement. Two losses in California were followed by a non-conference win against another NSIC member in Jamestown. When conference play started the Beavers lost their first two before defeating Winona State. Since the win over the Warriors, Minot State has not won a match, coming into this weekend on a five match winless skid.
15th: Winona State: 1-1-9 (1-1-7) - 4 pts
Another one win team, but unlike Minot State the Winona State Warriors did not win a single non-conference match. WSU broke an eight match winless run by taking down MSU-Moorhead on 2 October. That win over the Dragons has been the Warriors only one of the entire season. Following the win over Moorhead the Warriors drew at Crookston on 4 October, earning WSU their first draw of the campaign.
16th: Minnesota-Crookston: 0-5-7 (0-3-6) - 3pts
Currently set to take home the wooden spoon are the Golden Eagles from Minnesota-Crookston. Unlike their sister U of MN school in Duluth the Golden Eagles season has seen nothing but pain in 2026. Six losses in the conference, seven overall, and having been outscored 14-3 this season Crookston has still trudged through the season. UMC now enters the toughest part of their schedule, facing UMD, SCSU, Minnesota State, and Mary in their next four matches.
