NEW ULM — New Ulm High School seniors Madison Roufs and Molly Scheid have decided to continue their soccer careers at Division II Southwest Minnesota State University next year. The two signed letters of intent this past fall.

The Mustangs finished the 2019 season with a record of 11-7 and they were 9-6 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.

Roufs, an attacker for the Eagles this past year, was one of the most dangerous players on the field at all times last year. She finished the season with 14 goals and 12 assists on 71 shots.

For Roufs, picking the Mustangs was an easy choice.

“One of the coaches reached out to me at a camp, we got together and I got to meet with the team,” Roufs said. “They were so different from all the other teams that I met with and they were a really big family and that’s what I was looking for. If you’re spending the next four years there, I just wanted a close-knit group that you could really hang out with all the time.”

Scheid has been one of New Ulm’s top defensive players over the years. She had two assists and 14 take-aways inside the 18 and she also had three non-goalie saves. She was excited about how the SMSU program has been doing and she liked the idea of playing there.

“Their program is up and coming, it’s a really good program and I just love that they’re a family-knit group and the coach [Erin Kasmarik-Mallet] is super nice, I like her a lot,” Scheid said. 

Scheid said that Roufs helped get her in touch with the SMSU coaching staff.

“She actually committed before me, and I was talking to her about how I was interested,” Scheid said. “She told me to talk to the coach and I got in touch with her and this after one of our games in Marshall and the coach said that she noticed me and that she was interested in having it become a thing.”

As of now, Scheid isn’t sure where she’ll play on the field for the Mustangs. But it helps that she’s going with one of her friends to play for four more years.

“I’m excited for it because we get to go on this journey together,” Scheid said.