The University of Minnesota Duluth will be home for five of its final six matches, but the Bulldogs will head out on a two-match road trip for the final time in 2014 this weekend.

Coming off arguably its most frustrating defeat of the season, head coach Greg Cane thinks UMD (4-6-0, 4-3-0 NSIC) still has questions to answer as it travels on its longest road trip of the conference season to Wayne State (Neb.) College and Augustana (S.D.) College. "As painful as it may have been to lose a close game to a team that was level with us in the standings - just because you're really emotional, doesn't mean it will always go your way," Coach Cane explained his message after the game. "We didn't play well enough to win the game. Though there was an emotional rise in the match, which is a good sign, I think it led a little bit to some false hope a little too quickly because the performance wasn't there to match that. I'd like to believe we're building towards a parallel match there. We'll know when we are, and we'll see that in our results. I'd take the emotional investment from that game as a positive sign."

QUICK HITS
• Senior forward Maureen Stormont scored both of UMD's goals as the Bulldogs went 1-1 last week against Sioux Falls and Southwest Minnesota State, claiming second-place outright for career points in program history with 109. She also led the Bulldog offense with 11 shots on the weekend.
• Senior goalkeeper Marissa Rosa recorded her third shutout of the season, making six second-half saves against Sioux Falls on Saturday afternoon to preserve the 1-0 score, and then stopped five balls in the 2-1 overtime thriller against Southwest Minnesota State on Sunday.
• The Bulldogs have seen a number of new faces take the field in recent games, including freshman defender Emily Fleissner who played in just her second and third collegiate starts over the weekend, helping lead a Bulldog defense that held Sioux Falls without a shot in the entire first half and turned away the high-powered Southwest Minnesota State offense throughout much of the game. Additionally, she earned her first collegiate assist on UMD's lone score against USF.

Coach Cane admits that playing new faces is part of figuring out the chemistry as well as rewarding those players who are working the hardest. "As a freshman, she's not playing any less than any of our seniors. At a certain time, when you're not getting results, you have to put some confidence in the players that have demonstrated an ability to play. Yes, she's caliber, but maybe mixing it up, and stirring the pot, using players a little bit diffierently can be something that ignities. We saw flashes of it. She has shown positive aspects of her play that have impacted the team, but she's made some mistakes that have been costly. I point to players like Kate McMahon - her playing time and minutes have been very quality. Taylor Johnson has done well in matches recently. Those players, and Emily, have shown consistency in their play."
 SCOUTING THE WILDCATS (Saturday, Oct. 11, 1:00 p.m.) - Live Stats | Live Video
• Wayne State (1-8-1, 0-7-0 NSIC) went 1-0-1 to start the season and since has lost eight straight, but has scored in each of its last four after being shut out in three of four matches. Opponents have outscored the Wildcats 14-4 in the second half of matches.
• Kelsea Lambert leads the Wayne State offense with three points this season on a goal and an assist. The team's seven goals have each been scored by different players.
• Freshman goalkeeper Margaret Harma has played the majority of time in-goal for the Widlcats, but sophomore Kylie Comba has spelled her in each of the past two games. The team has a 2.23 goals against average and has stopped just 68.5 percent of shots this year.

SCOUTING THE VIKINGS (Sunday, Oct. 12, 1:00 p.m.) - Live Stats | Live Video
• Augustana (8-2-0, 6-1-0 NSIC) dropped its first match of the NSIC season last Sunday and will play host to St. Cloud State University before the Bulldogs come to town, but had won eight in a row before last weekend.
• Senior Payton Pry leads the Viking offense with seven goals and 15 points on the season. Freshman attacker Samantha Tymkowicz has five goals and 11 points, while freshman Samantha Arnold (3) and senior Annie Thoreson (5) have been the team's top helpers this year.
• Senior Ashley Limmer has played all but one half of a game between the pipes for Augie, allowing just seven goals for a 0.73 ERA and 85.7 save percentage. She has four solo shutouts on the year, and one combined with freshman Taylor Machacek.

Coach Cane knows the weekend will be challenging, but is more focused on what UMD can control. "Wayne is a difficult place to play as all teams find out. Augie is equally challenging and is on a great run. It's gonna be a difficult weekend, but it's more about us performing as well as we can. We have a quality in our team that if we can put 90 minutes together in a convincing fashion, there's not many teams that can beat us. We continue to work on refining our game and eliminating error. I'd like to think there's progress there."

BULLDOG 'BYTE
"It's like a chocolate chip cookie that doesn't taste quite right, but you still are going to eat it. There's something missing - maybe a little bit of everything - but it's a chocolate chip cookie so it's got to be okay. We're working to address areas of cohesion, of execution. We're just trying to work at it and get better. If I could put my finger on it, it would have been solved. We continue to try and search." - Coach Cane on the struggles the Bulldogs have faced living up to high preseason expectations

UMD will look to rebound from an emotional defeat against a pair of tough NSIC foes beginning with the Wildcats on Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. in Wayne, Nebraska.