Northern Softball drops two at St. Cloud State
St. Cloud, Minn. (Northern State) – The Northern State University softball team fell twice to St. Cloud State in NSIC action on Sunday afternoon on the road. After a shutout loss in the game one, the Wolves held a lead twice in game two.THE QUICK DETAILSFinal Score Game 1: NSU 0, SCSU 9 (6 inn.)Final Score Game 2: NSU 4, SCSU 6Records: NSU 10-35 (4-20 NSIC), SCSU 37-14 (16-7 NSIC)HOW IT HAPPENED GAME 1
Northern tallied three hits in the game one loss, as St. Cloud scored two runs in the third, four in the fourth, one in the fifth, and two in the sixth
Aune Boben, Eden Ford, and Madi Jones each recorded a single in the game
Abby Rux suffered the loss for the Wolves, giving up seven earned runs on 13 hits with three strikeouts
Dessa Bryant entered in relief, giving up the final two runs of the contest in the circle
NORTHERN STATE STATISTICAL STANDOUTSAune Boben: 1-for-3Eden Ford: 1-for-3Madi Jones: 1-for-3HOW IT HAPPENED GAME 2
The Wolves scored four runs on eight hits in game two with two runs in the first, one in the third, and one in the sixth
The Huskies tallied six runs on nine hits, scoring one in the second, two in the third, and three in the sixth
Aune Boben and Eden Ford scored for the Wolves in the first on a sacrifice fly by Avarie Eagle and single by Emma Owens
St. Cloud State cut the lead to one in the second, however Tevan Bryant grabbed that run back in the third with a home run to right
The Huskies tied the game in the bottom of the third with a home run of their own
Brooke Wolf regained the lead for NSU in the sixth on a double to left center by Owens, however SCSU responded in the bottom of the frame with the tying and eventual game winning runs
Boben led the offense with three hits, including a double, while Owens added two hits, one of which was a double
Dessa Bryant started the contest for NSU, throwing 3-complete with three runs given up on fifth hits
Abby Rux entered in relief and suffered the loss, giving up three runs on four hits with five strikeouts in the final three innings of action
NORTHERN STATE STATISTICAL STANDOUTSAune Boben: 3-for-4, 1 double, 1 runEmma Owens: 2-for-3, 1 double, 2 RBIAvarie Eagle: 1-for-2, 1 double, 1 RBITevan Bryant: 1-for-3, 1 home run, 1 run, 1 RBIUP NEXTThe Wolves will close out the 2025 season next Saturday and Sunday from Koehler Hall of Fame Field. Northern will host Minnesota Crookston at 1 and 3 p.m. on Saturday and Bemidji State at 12 and 2 p.m. on Sunday.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
Minnesota Basketball Star Worked Out by Timberwolves
The Minnesota Timberwolves finished their season with the same result as they did a year ago — a 4-1 Western Conference Finals defeat, this time at the hands of the Oklahoma City Thunder, who tip off game one of the 2025 NBA Finals Thursday night against the Indiana Pacers. This is a critical offseason for the Wolves. The team sale is expected to be finalized this month, and multiple key free agency decisions are on the docket. There is also the upcoming NBA Draft in which Minnesota holds the 17th and 31st overall pick. Advertisement The Minnesota Timberwolves have a few different ways they could use the picks. One player expected to be on the board for both picks is hometown hero, Dawson Garcia, who grew up in Prior Lake and played three seasons for the Minnesota Gophers. Dawson Garcia showcases talent for Minnesota Timberwolves While it is unlikely Garcia hears his name called in a couple weeks, when the NBA Draft takes place, it's worth noting that, according to Darren Wolfson (KSTP) on a recent episode of the Mackey & Judd Show on SKOR North, the Timberwolves hosted Garcia for a private workout recently. Should the future stars align, it's very plausible the Wolves give him a shot on their 2025 Summer League team, at the least. 'The Wolves draft workout on Monday, here's a name this hasn't been out there, Dawson Garcia. The former Gophers worked out for the Timberwolves on Monday…I'm told all focus, at least right now, is starting his pro career. Whether that ends up the Amir Coffey route, G-League…I'm just told, right now, all focus is on a pro career. The Wolves had that draft workout on Monday.' Darren Wolfson – SKOR North Advertisement When Dawson Garcia first left Prior Lake High School, he landed at Marquette. He lasted one season over the eastern border, before transferring to North Carolina, before eventually coming home and playing for the Minnesota Gophers. In between the note that Garcia did work out for the Timberwolves, Wolfson mentioned that, even if he doesn't catch on with the NBA or G-League, Dawson will have plenty of lucrative overseas options to pursue. Over the course of his 5-year college career, Dawson Garcia has played 132 games. Garcia could still try for another year with Minnesota Gophers… or other college program During his final season with Minnesota the forward averaged 19.2 points per game and shot 4.74% from the field. He's not a great three-point threat, shooting just 35.3% for his career, but has plenty of athleticism for his 6'1″ frame. Advertisement Still, it's not impossible that Garcia tries for one more year of eligibility. Garcia reportedly made $500k in NIL last season with Minnesota. The Gophers should have substantially more to spend with new head coach Niko Medved,. No doubt, Garcia would have plenty of other collegiate suitors as well. Minnesota's drafted Rob Dillingham and Terrence Shannon Jr. last summer. The former failed to carve out a significant role but remains a substantial upside play. The latter earned key minutes down the stretch and provided a points infusion off the bench during the playoffs. Related Headlines
New York Times
9 hours ago
- New York Times
Is targeting xG overperformers like Cunha and Mbeumo a sensible or risky transfer strategy?
Now more than ever, Manchester United need players who transcend expectations, and their recruitment strategy so far this summer reflects this. United have already reached an agreement to sign Matheus Cunha from Wolves after activating his £62.5million release clause. Brentford's Bryan Mbeumo could follow, with The Athletic's David Ornstein reporting that United have made an initial £55million offer after the player made clear his desire to join. Advertisement Cunha and Mbeumo have impressed since arriving in English football with a catalogue of dazzling performances. But they've also stood out in a colder, more technical sense as the Premier League's most ruthless finishers this season, both comfortably beating their expected goal tallies. Mbeumo scored nearly twice as many goals as expected, netting 15 non-penalty goals from 7.6 xG. Cunha followed closely behind, converting 8.7 xG into 15 goals — the league's second-highest overperformance in 2024-25. Their razor-sharp finishing obviously deserves praise, and it's a trait United sorely lacked this season. But by targeting the league's biggest statistical outliers, is their transfer strategy betting on unsustainable hot streaks rather than sound underlying processes? The Athletic explores whether xG overperformance should be something to pursue or a recruitment red flag. Let's start with Mbeumo. His range of goals this season covered the full spectrum: smart volleys, curled finishes, thumping near-post drives, poacher's tap-ins, and yes, a healthy dollop of fortune, including an overhit cross against Ipswich Town that floated in. Mbeumo the match-winner back in October 🤯 Last time out against Ipswich ⏪ — Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) May 9, 2025 His golden touch more than filled the goalscoring void left by Ivan Toney's departure to Al Hilal, propelling Brentford to 56 points, their highest-ever Premier League total. But how repeatable was that output, given the quality of chances he had? To estimate this, The Athletic simulated Mbeumo's season 100,000 times using the individual xG values of his 79 non-penalty shots. An average finisher, given the same chances, would be expected to match his tally just once every 200 seasons or so, with only 0.4 per cent of simulations producing 15 goals or more. According to the model, it was more likely he'd score two. Cunha, on the other hand, had a 1.7 per cent chance of achieving his tally or more, due to his smaller level of overperformance. It does seem extremely unlikely that either player could repeat their 2024-25 output (from a similar quality of chances) in future seasons. But xG is just a model. Finishing is influenced by a messy cocktail of factors including distance, angle, pressure, goalkeeper positioning, shot technique, individual skill, and a garnish of luck — no metric can perfectly capture them all. Advertisement Football is a low-scoring sport, and shot data, particularly on the player-specific level where sample sizes are small, is subject to large amounts of variance. If the model underestimates Cunha's chance conversion by 25 per cent, his 15-goal tally would be reached in a more plausible 10 per cent of simulations. Still, there's one pattern that does hold firm: regularly outpacing your xG isn't something most players can sustain. The graphic below compares Premier League players' xG overperformance from one season to the next, and… there's virtually no correlation. Of course, there are exceptions. Some players' finishing ability is such that they consistently outperform their expected goals. The most prominent example is Tottenham's Son Heung-min, who has scored 97 goals from an xG of 72 since the 2018-19 Premier League season. Other notable outperformers include Harry Kane, Phil Foden and Kevin De Bruyne. Mbeumo isn't in that bracket, at least not yet. This was the first time in his four Premier League seasons he's outperformed his xG. Could it be that his finishing has just drastically improved this season? Probably not, but there has been a change in his shooting patterns this season. In previous seasons, Mbeumo's shots were spread fairly evenly across the box. This year, they clustered tightly around the right edge of the penalty area. Cutting inside and curling efforts into the far corner, as he did in Brentford's 4-0 away victory to Leicester, has become his signature finish. It's possible he's genuinely better than the average player at this particular shot type. Whether he can get into those same positions as often at a team like United is a different question. For Cunha, the story is a little different, as he finished above expectations in both of his two full Premier League seasons. But digging into his shotmap for this season and a pattern emerges. Five of his goals have come from outside the box, the joint most with new team-mate Bruno Fernandes, including one against United direct from a corner. Either Cunha is an elite ball-striker outside the box, or more likely, this ability to score from range will stabilise in the future The danger with overperformance is overpaying for a scoring streak that doesn't last. Brentford manager Thomas Frank has already referenced Mbeumo's '20 goals for a mid-table' club as a reason why 'if he is sold, it must be for a nice, nice amount'. It's easier to market a player's realised actual goal return rather than a less flattering statistical estimate. One notable cautionary tale is Timo Werner's £47.5m transfer to Chelsea from RB Leipzig in 2020. He was signed off the back of a season in which he massively overperformed, scoring 28 goals from just 21.2 xG. But the German international's shooting boots never made it to London and he has underperformed his xG by 11 goals during his Premier League stint. Liverpool signed Christian Benteke after a similar purple patch in his final season for Aston Villa, and like Werner he failed to replicate this at a bigger club. A more recent counterexample is Omar Marmoush, whose clinical striking has persisted after a move from the Bundesliga to Manchester City, scoring seven league goals since joining in January. In the case of Mbeumo and Cunha, concerns about overperformance obscure a more important truth: both post strong underlying xG numbers. They're overperforming relative to a high base, which is especially impressive for players who don't operate as out-and-out strikers in elite, chance-heavy sides. Advertisement Finishing can fluctuate but xG creation tends to hold. The ability to consistently get into high-quality scoring positions is what should really be valued, rather than finishing purple patches. Focusing too narrowly on finishing obscures the other aspects of play that make both players attractive to United. For example, both are skilled at laying on chances, something sorely needed for struggling striker Rasmus Hojlund, who recorded the lowest xG per 90 of all Premier League strikers this season. The scatter graph below shows each Premier League player's percentage contribution to their team's total xG and xA, with Cunha and Mbeumo standing out on both fronts. But they also bring other dimensions to United's attack not reflected in these statistics, such as Cunha's ability to drive the ball up the pitch and Mbeumo's physicality in aerial duels. As Liverpool's former head of research Ian Graham wrote in his book How to Win the Premier League, one job of data analysis is 'to separate long-term underlying performance from short-term unpredictable performance' and that 'most teams cannot tell the difference between signal and noise'. Mbeumo and Cunha's finishing overperformance? Likely unsustainable noise, particularly in Mbeumo's case. But the signal — their ability to consistently get into high-quality scoring positions and create for others — is very real. Mbeumo's 9.3 expected assists led the entire Premier League, while Cunha's non-penalty xG surpassed every player in United's current squad. United may be paying a premium for the noise, but in this case, they'll still be getting the signal. And for now, that should be good enough for Ruben Amorim. (Header photos: Getty Images)
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Yahoo
The clubs most LIKELY to sign Liverpool star who 'lacks intensity'
The clubs most LIKELY to sign Liverpool star who 'lacks intensity' Liverpool have a big decision to make over Harvey Elliott during this summer's transfer window. The playmaker only made two Premier League starts for the champions last season - both of which came after the title was wrapped up. Arne Slot simply did not trust the 22-year-old in the biggest moments and that treatment has led to a discussion over the England under-21 international's future. Advertisement Elliott is under contract until 2027 and there is little prospect of him signing a new deal with his minutes so restricted. There is believed to be Premier League interest from Nottingham Forest, Newcastle and Wolves, but Elliott has so far issued no preference on his next move. Back in January it was also speculated that Borussia Dortmund and Brighton were interested in the out-of-favour creative midfielder. Sporting director Richard Hughes is believed to value Elliott at £40m to £50m - and he could be sacrificed this summer if the right bid materialises. Elliott 'lacks intensity' Now comes a report in Football Insider, which appears to seal Elliott's fate. Advertisement The player does not possess the right out-of-possession characteristics to hold down a place in Arne Slot's team, according to the report, with Mohamed Salah and Dominik Szoboszlai far ahead of him in the pecking order. 'Liverpool's coaches are said to believe the 22-year-old lacks the intensity off the ball required to fit into their playing style on a regular basis and be a nailed-on starter,' the report reads. And, accordingly, a move to Serie A might be on the cards for the former Fulham man. © IMAGO Will Elliott move to Italy? 'Harvey Elliott is most likely to join a Serie A club if he leaves Liverpool this summer,' the report states. Advertisement 'Elliott's game would be better suited to Serie A, and there is believed to be early interest from two leading Italian clubs. 'Clubs in Germany's Bundesliga are also understood to be monitoring the left-footed star's situation.' The names of the clubs involved are not disclosed in the report.
