The University of Minnesota Duluth will be seeking a pair of victories to officially secure a playoff spot in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, but they won't come easy as both opponents facing UMD are jockeying for playoff position as well.

The Bulldogs (7-9-0, 7-6-0 NSIC) currently sit in eighth place in the league with 21 points. Bemidji State University, UMD's Friday opponent, sits at fifth place with 25, while Southwest Minnesota State University and Minot State University are tied for sixth with 22. The University of Minnesota-Crookston - the Saturday foe for the Bulldogs - is just on the outside with 19 points.

QUICK HITS
• Senior forward Maureen Stormont netted the 53rd goal of her career, setting a UMD program record for scoring as UMD edged Concordia-St. Paul on Sunday afternoon. With her two points Sunday, she moved within one point of the Bulldog program record for scoring with 124 in her career  SCOUTING THE BEAVERS (Friday, Oct. 31, 3:00 p.m.) - Live Stats | Live Video
• Bemidji State (9-6-1, 8-4-1 NSIC/5th) enters the week on a seven-match unbeaten streak (6-0-1). The Beavers and Bulldogs split two matches last season, with UMD earning revenge for a late-season loss by knocking off BSU 2-0 in the NSIC Tournament. The Bulldogs are 15-4-2 all-time against Bemidji State.
• Sophomore forward Sarah Stram earned NSIC Offensive Player of the Week honors with a pair of goals last weekend. Stram is second to UMD's Stormont in points with 30 on the season, and goals with 12. The team also has sophomore forward Bayley Ertl with seven goals on the year, giving teams a pair of players to worry about.
• Senior goalkeeper Sonja Barr, a Duluth East graduate, is twice the NSIC's Goalkeeper of the Week in 2014. Her 0.93 goals against average is fifth-best in the NSIC. She's allowed 13 goals in 15 games, and shut out opponents five times this year.

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES (Sunday, Nov. 2, 1:00 p.m.) - Live Stats | Live Video
• Minnesota-Crookston (6-5-5, 5-4-4 NSIC/9th) enters the weekend on a three-game unbeaten streak with a pair of scoreless ties last week. UMD closed out the regular season with a 3-1 victory over the Golden Eagles last Nov. 3 and is 12-0-0 all-time against Crookston.
• Junior forward Courtney Armborst's eight goals are tied for the seventh-most in the NSIC. While she's been the go-to scorer for UMC, five Eagles have multiple assists on the season, led by freshman midfielder Beth Lastovich with five.
• Defense has been the bigger part of Crookston's success this season, allowing just 16 goals on the season (an average of one per game) with seven shutouts by its two goalies. Sophomore Lexie Gauger ranks just behind BSU's Barr for sixth in the league with a 0.96 GAA and has six shutouts by herself, but has a .500 record at 5-5-5 this season.

BULLDOG 'BYTE
"I feel like I blacked out because I was just overwhelmed with everything. It was senior day, and being honored like that was very special. I know Jen [Reierson, the previous record holder and UMD assistant coach] was very proud of me. She's been my biggest fan in terms of reaching that record." - Stormont on receiving a gameball at halftime of UMD's 2-1 win over Concordia-St. Paul last week to honor her record achievement (courtesy of Duluth News Tribune)

KICKS FOR A CAUSE
Bulldog seniors have each chosen an organization and cause to promote at home games throughout the season. Friday afternoon, the Bulldogs will welcome CHUM (http://www.chumduluth.org). CHUM is a nonprofit human services agency sponsored and governed by 39 Duluth congregations. CHUM began in 1973 when ten Central Hillside congregations pooled resources to assist low-income people in Duluth.The organizational goals are to provide basic needs services for homeless and marginalized members of our community while working to effect changes which will eliminate the need for our services.

The Bulldogs and Beavers will take the field at Malosky Stadium for a Halloween matinee on Friday afternoon. Opening kick is set for 3:00 p.m.