The University of Minnesota Duluth will play nationally ranked competition for the second time this weekend, facing off with No. 3 Minnesota State University Mankato on Sunday, but first have to deal with Concordia University, St. Paul in a Friday evening match-up.
The Bulldogs (9-2-0, 7-1-0 NSIC) took their lone conference loss at the hands of then-No. 18 Southwest Minnesota State two weeks ago, but dominated the first half before the Mustangs offense surprised them after the break. Since, UMD has embarked on a four-match winning streak which has seen them outscored opponents 14-3. The Bulldogs are off to their best start since the 2000 season when they finished with just one regular season loss.
The Opponents
Concordia-St. Paul snapped a three-match losing streak last time out by defeating Wayne State (Neb.) 2-1 last Sunday afternoon. Head coach Steve Bellis is in his third season at the helm of the Golden Bears. Opponents have out-scored CU 17-10 so far in 2013. Sophomore midfielder Alahna Anderson leads the Concordia offense with six goals and 13 points. Sophomore McKenzie Buck and freshman Eric Landry have accounted for the rest of the Bears' goals with two each. Senior Kayla Kuczaboski and freshman Emma Gartner have split time in net, posting a combined 1.42 GAA with 57 saves and one shutout each.
UMD has never lost to Concordia, posting a perfect 14-0-0 record against the Golden Bears. The Bulldogs downed CU by a 4-2 final on Oct. 14, 2012 last time out.
No. 3 Minnesota State carries an 11-1-0 record into competition this weekend with their only loss at the hands of current No. 1 Grand Valley State. The Mavericks have won eight straight and out-scored opponents 33-7 so far in 2013. Sophomore Korey Kronforst leads the conference in scoring with 12 goals (an average of one per game) and 27 points. Nine players have scored a goal this season for Minnesota State. Junior goalkeeper Molly McGough has played the majority of time between the pipes, posting a 0.61 goals-against average, allowing just six goals on 40 shots and earned five shutouts already in 2013.
The Mavericks defeated UMD by a 5-0 final last time out on Halloween 2012. The Bulldogs are 8-14-3 all-time against Minnesota State.
The Bulldogs
The fifth-ranked team in the NCAA II Central region, according to the latest NSCAA poll, has seen its offense come alive in the past four victories, as it now boasts the no. 23 scoring output in all of Division II. Junior forward
Maureen Stormont has led the way as she is ninth in the nation in both goals (11) and points (25), and second in the conference only to MSU's Kronforst. Stormont now ranks fourth all-time in goals at UMD with 32 for her career, while her 75 points puts her at sixth all-time. Senior forward
Dani Potter has also climbed the all-time ranks at UMD with seven goals and 21 points in 2013. Her 25 goals puts her at seventh in a UMD career and her 71 points are right behind Stormont at seventh.
Sophomore goalkeeper
Marissa Rosa had her best weekend of the season, earning her third shutout of 2013 and allowing just one goal with 11 saves as her GAA dropped to 1.18.
UMD plays just its third evening match of the season on Friday night as they take on Concordia-St. Paul at 7:00 p.m. Their Sunday afternoon match-up with No. 3 Minnesota State is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
