The University of Minnesota Duluth played its best soccer to end the regular season and transitioned that into the postseason with what is now a four-game winning streak after a 1-0 upset victory over second-seed No. 24 Augustana (S.D.) College in the first round of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference/U.S. Bank Postseason Tournament on Wednesday afternoon.
UMD (9-9-1) got just enough offense, and continued the stout defense the Bulldogs had displayed all season, to shut down Augustana (14-5) and avenge a 3-1 defeat in the NSIC regular season. UMD will now face third-seed Winona State University in the semifinals, which will be in Mankato where top-ranked number one seed Minnesota State University Mankato awaits fourth-seed Upper Iowa University. All four quarterfinal matches were decided by the same 1-0 score.
HIGHLIGHT• Sophomore forward
Kailey Beatt had three shots off the bench and netted her first goal of 2013 with an assist from senior midfielder
Hannah Keil.
• Senior
Marissa Rosa earned her seventh shutout of 2014 and third in a row with four saves.
The Bulldogs controlled the first half offensively, out-shooting the Vikings 10-5 in the opening frame. Augie senior goalkeeper Ashley Limmer made four saves in the opening half, but Beatt caught a rebound of a Keil shot right in the center of the box to break the scoreless tie in the 38th minute. The Vikings challenged with a pair of shots on net to close the period but Rosa shut the door and the Bulldogs took a lead to the locker room they would not give up. Augustana out-shot UMD 10-2 in the second half, but put just a pair on-target as the Bulldog defense stood tall in the to finish out the shutout.
"I told the team after the match: this is the first time since the start of the season that we've been .500. And we go forward from here," said coach
Greg Cane post-game.
UP NEXTThe Bulldogs will travel to Mankato, Minnesota for the semifinals of the NSIC/U.S. Bank Postseason Tournament on Friday morning. UMD will take on long-time rival Winona State University at 11:00 a.m.
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