THE OPENING KICK: The University of Minnesota Duluth will put the finishing touches to the 2017 regular season this weekend. The Bulldogs have two more games to decide their fate on whether they get to continue playing in November. Friday night, UMD hosts No. 15 Bemidji State for senior day on the home finale at 6:00 p.m. The regular season concludes in Crookston, Minn., Sunday at 1:00 p.m. against the University of Minnesota Crookston.

PLAYOFFS?!?: Coming into the weekend, UMD holds the eighth and final playoff spot for the NSIC Tournament. The Bulldogs are two points behind Concordia-St. Paul for the seventh slot and one point ahead of St. Cloud State. Sioux Falls, who is barely holding on in ninth with 15 points, is the only other team that can spoil the postseason party. Two other teams ahead of UMD (U-Mary and Concordia-St. Paul) still need to clinch. If all goes right, the Bulldogs can go as high as fifth place.

SO YOU'RE TELLING ME THERE'S A CHANCE: UMD controls its own destiny as it can clinch a postseason berth by getting two wins over the weekend. If not, they need help. 
The tie breaker consists of the following options: head-to-head matchup, goal differential (GD), goals for (GF), goals against (GA) and coin flip. The Bulldogs have the tie-breaker over St. Cloud State and U-Mary has the tie-breaker over UMD. The Bulldogs coming into the weekend control the tie-breaker in goal differential over both Sioux Falls and Concordia St. Paul.
The Bulldogs can clinch in any of the following ways with their potential outcomes over the weekend:

Two wins- IN
Win/Tie- A SCSU tie or two SCSU losses OR Two losses by U-Mary OR Two ties by CSP with win in GD OR a CSP tie/loss or two losses.
Win/Loss- A SCSU win/tie or worst OR a CSP tie/loss with win in GD OR two CSP losses
Two ties- A SCSU win/loss or worst OR two CSP losses with win in GD. 
Tie/Loss- Two SCSU ties or worst OR win in GD tie-breaker if two USF wins.
Two losses- A SCSU tie/loss AND one USF loss.

SCOUTING REPORT ON BEMIDJI STATE: The Beavers have exceeded expectations set forth by the NSIC coaches.  BSU is ranked 15th in the nation and 2nd in the regional rankings. The Beavers are unbeaten and tied with Minnesota State and Augustana. Riding a two-game winning streak, BSU is led by Racheal Norton and Allyson Smith. Norton and Smith are first and third in the NSIC in goals and points. Norton is 33rd in goals (11) and 17th in points (30). The Beavers have allowed only four goals on the year, the third fewest total in the nation. Catherine Arneson is second in the country in save percentage with .966. BSU has only 49 corner kicks on the year, far fewer than UMD's 90.

SCOUTING REPORT ON MINNESOTA CROOKSTON: The Golden Eagles come in to the weekend having lost their last two games. UMC is the only team in the NSIC to record a victory. It has tied Wayne State and MSU-Moorhead. The Eagles have six goals on the season, which is 251 out of 257 teams. UMC ranks 239th in goals allowed average with 2.75 and is being outshot five-to-one in its games. 

THE SERIES: The Bulldogs lead the all-time series 16-5-3 over the Beavers. Last season, UMD tied BSU 1-1 at Bemidji. Erika Hjort scored her first collegiate goal in that game. The matchup is squared at 2-2-2 since 2011.
The Bulldogs and the Golden Eagles will square off for the 16th time on Sunday. UMD won the first 12 contests. UMC tied the Bulldogs in 2014 then defeated them the following season. The Eagles lost 4-0 last year at Malosky Stadium. Four Bulldogs (Laura Edgren, Emily Fleissner, Kailey Beatt and Skye Finley) scored in that game.

HOW THEY RANK: Here is how UMD stacks up against BSU and UMC in the NSIC standings, the latest United Soccer Coaches Division II poll and where they stack up in the NCAA Central Region rankings.
TEAM    NSIC        COACHES        REGION
UMD        8th               NR                   NR
BSU         1st              15th                  2nd
UMC       16th              NR                   NR

THE BROADCAST: The matches this weekend will be carried live through a video stream, in addition to live stats, with play-by-play provided by the iFan Sports Network for Friday's game and is available for free at:
portal.stretchinternet.com/umd

THE SENIOR HURRAH: Four seniors (forward Skye Finley,  defender Emily Fleissner, forward Hailey Hoff and defender Anna Morrison) will make their final debuts at Malosky Stadium this Friday night against the Beavers. Over the past four years, the class has compiled a 30-33-10 record but have boasted a 9-5-2 record in their final Bulldog season. They have a chance this weekend to become the 14th senior class to hit double-digit wins. Combined, the four horsemen have tallied 17 goals, 14 assists for 48 points.

LAST TIME OUT: UMD split on the road in Sioux Falls, S.D., and Wayne, Neb. Augustana defeated the Bulldogs 1-0. UMD played without four of its main starters. The Vikings' leading scorer Samantha Tymkowicz scored 94 seconds into the second half. The Bulldogs used three unanswered goals to erase a two-goal deficit to comeback 5-4 in overtime over Wayne State. Five Bulldogs found the back of the net. Natalie St. Martin scored the game-winner in overtime. 

WILD SHOOTOUT: The Bulldogs and Wildcats combined for nine goals on Sunday. UMD hasn't been involved in a nine-goal game since it loss 5-4 to Bemidji State on Sept. 2, 2004. It was the second time UMD and Wayne State battled in a nine-goal game back in 2003. The Bulldogs also came away victorious with an eight-goal outburst on the Wildcats. 

TOP DOGS: Forwards Natalie St. Martin and Destiny Schmitz are near the top of the NSIC scoring charts. The duo are tied for 11th with 11 points each. Both players have tallied their points differently. St. Martin has two goals and seven assists. Schmitz, on the other hand, has five goals and one assist. 

THESE DOGS HAVE NO QUIT: The Bulldogs have knocked in 20 of their 27 goals in the second half or later. They have also outscored the opponents 20-7 after the intermission session. They have out shot teams 141-88 and have produced more corner kicks (43-29) during that stretch.

TIGHTLY CONTESTED: In its five losses this season, the Bulldogs has not lost a game by more than a goal. In three of those games, they have outshot the opposition. 

TALK ABOUT BALANCED: Seventeen (17) different Bulldogs have garnered at least a point, matching the 2003 team. UMD is second in the NSIC in that stat with only Minnesota State besting that number at 20. The Bulldogs, however, have the highest percentage (.850) of players to record a point with 17 out of 20. The 1997 team gathered 20 players with one point.

YOU'LL ALWAYS REMEMBER YOUR FIRST: Seven Bulldogs (junior Madison Carey, sophomores Mikayla Iaquinto, Emily Hinz, Nan Glinsek, and Maddie Milbrath and freshmen Gabby Bland and Jenna Eichten) have registered their first collegiate points. 
Carey assisted on UMD's third goal against the Rangers on Aug. 31. Iaquinto posted her assist on Nash's tally when her shot banged off the crossbar at Michigan Tech on Sept. 10. Hinz had a goal and an assist against Concordia-St. Paul on Sept. 17. Glinsek received her first point on an assist at Winona State on Sept. 29. Milbrath assisted on the game-winner  vs. Wayne State on Oct. 22. Bland knocked in the game-winner marker on her first collegiate shot versus Northern State on Sept. 24. Eichten, in her first collegiate start, grabbed her first assist on Nash's goal against Sioux Falls on Oct. 15.

THE DYNAMIC DUO: Destiny Schmitz (six) and Skye Finley (five) rank in the top 10 in goal scoring. The duo ranks as the third best scoring combo in the league with 11 total goals.

WHAT A FEED: Natalie St. Martin has a team-leading eight assists to occupy the top slot with Bemidji State's Allyson Smith and Rachael Norton in the conference and 12th in all of Division II. The last Bulldog to have eight assists was Dani Potter in her senior season.  St. Martin is racing to become the first UMD player to have nine assists since Becky Anderson and Alex Paffrath each totalled that number in 2009. For record for most assists in a single season is 11 held by Pam Lensing who accomplished that feat in 2003.

GETTING OFFENSIVE: The backrow has done its share of contributing on the offensive side of the field. UMD defenders have compiled 17 points (five goals and seven assists) this season.  

GOLDEN GIRLS: Senior forward Skye Finley and junior forward Natalie St. Martin each received NSIC honors for offensive player of the week accolades for the first two weeks of the season. Before St. Martin claimed the weekly conference award, defender Megan Helberg ('14) was the last Bulldog member to be selected player of the week honors on Nov. 3, 2014.
Player of the Week Honors
Sept. 5- Natalie St. Martin Offense PoW
Sept. 11- Skye Finley Offense PoW

Finley snagged the honor for leading UMD to a pair of victories over Northern Michigan and Michigan Tech. She chipped in both game-winners off beautifully placed corner kicks. St. Martin, the product of Mahtomedi H.S., slammed home the game winner then proceeded to tally assists on the other two markers of a 3-0 victory of the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. That four-point performance already matched her entire output of 2016.

NIFTY 250: Cane gathered historic win number 250 this past Sunday at Wayne State. Cane is the 18th coach to hit the milestone at the Division II level. His 265 collegiate wins with the St. Scholastica and UMD clubs ranks him 14th among head coaches with 10-plus years of DII coaching experience. He became the 13th coach in any sport to accumulate at least 250 wins at UMD.

OH CAPTAINS, MY CAPTAINS: A pair of forward seniors, Hailey Hoff and Skye Finley, have been entrenched with the 'C' responsibilities for this fall. Finley served that responsibility last season. The last time UMD had at least two captains was in 2014 when Hannah Keil and Jennifer Smith led the helm. 

THE CANE FILES: Greg Cane is one of the few coaches who can claim to have literally build his or her squad from the ground up. Cane officially became the first head soccer coach in Bulldog history in 1994.

The Bulldogs joined the upstart NSIC in 1996 and have claimed the league crown five times (1997, 1998, 2001-03) as well as five conference tournament titles (1997, 1998, 2001, 2003, and 2009) in 17 seasons of NSIC competition Cane has twice led UMD to unblemished conference marks (1997 and 2003) and both times been named the NSIC Coach of the Year in those seasons.

Cane and the Bulldogs set a team record 17 wins in 2000 and would be ranked as high as eighth nationally en route to capturing the program's first NCAA Tournament berth. The team matched that win total in 2013 and made its biggest splash in the postseason, hosting the NCAA II Central Region Tournament where they reached the NCAA II Quarterfinals before succumbing to eventual champion Grand Valley State University.

The Bulldogs have been a model of consistency under the guidance of Cane in the upper Midwest. His keen eye for talent and development has harvested 27 different NSCAA/Daktronics All-Central Region players including three All-Americans in Clare Dahmen and Hannah Bengston in 2009 and Maria Leider the following season.

In September 2013, Cane was inducted into the St. Scholastica Athletic Hall of Fame for leading the Saints to two National Small Colleges Athletic Association National Championships. Cane later played an integral role in establishing the St. Scholastica women's soccer program in 1990.

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME: UMD has an impeccable 129-52-13 record playing inside the confines of Malosky Stadium (good for a .698 winning percentage). Having played all 24 seasons inside the 4,500-seat venue, the Bulldogs have had only two losing seasons and have capped off three perfect home records, the latest coming in 2009. 

UP NEXT: With the regular season concluding this Sunday, the Bulldogs will hope to travel on the road next Wednesday in the NSIC Tournament. 

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