The University of Minnesota Duluth will look to make its home field advantage count and rebound from a tough season opener as the Bulldogs play host to Michigan Tech University and Northern Michigan University to close the non-conference schedule this weekend before opening Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference at St. Cloud State University.

UMD (0-1-0) suffered a 6-0 defeat by the now-No. 8-ranked team in the country, the University of Central Missouri last Friday in the 2015 lid-lifter. Saturday, the Bulldogs will look to bounce back against an upstart Michigan Tech team before longtime rival Northern Michigan comes to town on Sunday. UMD will have a quick turn-around as it opens NSIC play in St. Cloud in a rare Tuesday evening affair.

SCOUTING THE HUSKIES | 1-1-0 (2015) / 11-5-2 (8-2-2 GLIAC)
Michigan Tech opened up its season last weekend with a pair of matches against NSIC competition, splitting at Winona State University (L 3-2) and St. Cloud State (W 3-0) ... the Huskies were selected for a fourth-place finish in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference after making its second-straight NCAA Tournament appearance in 2014 .... Tech returns a pair of All-GLIAC Second Team selections from a year ago in junior midfielder Jacqueline Mielke and junior defender Emily Morin... head coach Michelle Jacob is in her sixth season at the helm of the Huskies ... UMD and Michigan Tech have met just once in the teams' histories, a 1-0 victory for the Huskies on Sept. 12, 2010 ... Tech produced a 3-1-1 record on the road last year and went 3-3-0 in non-conference play ... UMD will look for a bounce-back against a tough Tech team at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday.

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS | 0-3-0 (2015) / 7-10-1, 5-7-0 GLIAC (2014)
Northern Michigan has stumbled out of the gates in 2015, falling three times in non-conference play against a trio of NSIC schools, including the pair matched up with Tech, and last Tuesday evening hosted Bemidji State, a 1-0 victory for the Beavers ... the Wildcats were tagged for an eighth-place finish in the GLIAC ... NMU returns 2014 GLIAC Player of the Year junior Paula Hafner, who led the conference with 14 goals and 31 points in the regular season ... head coah Matt Granstrand has led the Wildcats from the sidelines since the 2004 season, compiling a 132-105-22 record ... UMD holds the edge in the longtime rivalry with NMU, 12-4-3 overall, but the Wildcats knocked off the Bulldogs last time out on Sept. 12, 2014 ... Northern Michigan posted a 3-5-0 record away from Marquette in 2014 ... the rivalry will reignite at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday afternoon.

SCOUTING THE HUSKIES | 1-1-0 (2015) / 6-11-1, 5-9-1 NSIC (2014)
St. Cloud State split its season-opening matches with Northern Michigan (W 2-1) and Michigan Tech (L 0-3) ... the Huskies will not be in action again before UMD comes to town on Tuesday ... SCSU returns All-NSIC Second Team selection sophomore Mackenzie Williams on the back line along with Honorable Mention senior Michelle Cornell on the midfield ... head coach Gretta Arvesen is in her second season at the helm of the Huskies... UMD owns a 16-7-4 record all-time against St. Cloud, last defeating the Huskies 3-0 on Sept. 14, 2014 ... SCSU went just 1-6-1 on its home field a season ago ... the Bulldogs and Huskies will kick off the NSIC season at 7:00 p.m. Tuesday.

QUICK KICKS
First-year players Laura Edgren and Natalie St. Martin as well as junior transfer Skye Finley all made their Bulldog debuts in the starting line-up. Nine players in all made their first appearances for UMD ... sophomore Jordan Melby and freshman Carlye Wright combined for five saves splitting time between the pipes for the Bulldogs.

LINKS TO WATCH
... vs. Michigan Tech: Live Stats & Video
... vs. Northern Michigan: Live Stats & Video
... at St. Cloud State: Live Stats | Live Video

UMD will look to break through on the scoreboard and in the standings as the team returns to Malosky Stadium this weekend. Kick-off between the Bulldogs and Huskies is set for 12:00 p.m.