THE OPENING KICK: The University of Minnesota Duluth concludes their longest road stint of the season with an Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference engagement against Minot State University (5-4-1, 4-3 NSIC). That clash will start at 6 p.m. Friday (Oct. 6). The Bulldogs travel home to play on Malosky Stadium Sunday (Oct. 8) at 1 p.m. against the University of Mary (5-2-2, 3-2-2 NSIC). Its a pivotal showdown as all three teams are jockey for positioning in the NSIC playoff race.
SCOUTING REPORT ON MINOT STATE: The Beavers routed Sioux Falls 4-0 and Southwest Minnesota State 3-0 this past weekend. Fourteen of their 24 goals were scored on Black Hills State and Minnesota Crookston, whom both ranked in the bottom five in goals allowed average. MISU ranks 32nd in scoring offense and 20th in GAA. Every win has come via shutout.
Minot State has three players with the top six in scoring in the NSIC. Sofia Lewis, who was named the NSIC Offensive Player of the Week on Monday, is second in the conference in goals scored (six) and leads the Beavers with 14 points. Haley Berryman (3g-4a) and Jordyn Cook (4g-2a) are tied for sixth with 10 points each. Erin Rafferty has a .487 GAA, which is good for fourth-best in the league and 20th in the country.
SCOUTING REPORT ON U-MARY: The Marauders are unbeaten in their last three games coming into the weekend. Mary is fourth in scoring offense and fifth in goals allowed. Hannah Smith has allowed six goals in nine games and has pitched two shutouts. Megan Lowery and Caylin Cathey have caused problems along opposing backlines with their striking abilities. Lowery leads the Marauders with five goals while Cathey is one behind her.
THE SERIES: The matchup between the Bulldogs and the Beavers will be the 6th time the two teams collide. Minot State has won the previous three meetings and loss its only decision to UMD in 2013 (2-1). The Beavers were triumphant last time out, winning 3-0.
The Bulldogs and the Marauders will meet for the 15th time with UMD grabbing an 8-3-3 series lead and is unbeaten (3-0-2) in the last five contests. UMD last lost to U-Mary on Oct. 9, 2011 in overtime. Last year, each club grabbed a point as they tied 1-1 at Bismarck, N.D.
HOW THEY RANK: Here is how UMD stacks up against MSU and CSP in the latest United Soccer Coaches Division II poll and how they were matched up in the United Soccer Coaches Division II Central Region poll.
TEAM COACHES REGION
UMD NR 9th
MISU NR NR
Mary NR NR
THE BROADCAST: The match on Friday will be carried live through a video stream, in addition to live stats, and are available for free at:
portal.stretchinternet.com/minotstate
Sunday's game will be carried live through a video stream, in addition to live stats, with play-by-play provided by the iFan Sports Network and is available for free at:
portal.stretchinternet.com/umd
LAST TIME OUT: UMD suffered a 2-1 setback to Winona State before turning the script and capturing a 2-1 overtime decision over Upper Iowa.
Destiny Schmitz tallied all three goals for the Bulldogs. She tied the game against the Warriors in the 58th minute. UMD gave up the decisive goal 10 minutes later. Schmitz would double her production the following game. The Farmington, Minn., native tied the game up again versus the Peacocks at the 42:35 mark then proceeded to collect the winner with 36 seconds left in the first overtime.
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.
TOP DOGS: Forwards Skye Finley and Natalie St. Martin are near the top of the NSIC scoring charts and rank among the best in the league. St. Martin is tied for fifth with 10 points and tied for sixth in points per game (1.00). Finley sits 10th in points (9) and tied for ninth in points per game (.90).
THESE DOGS HAVE NO QUIT: The Bulldogs have knocked in 14 of their 17 goals in the second half or later. All seven go-ahead markers have come after the intermission. They have also outscored the competition 13-12 in the second 45 minutes.
YOU'LL ALWAYS REMEMBER YOUR FIRST: Junior Madison Carey, sophomores Mikayla Iaquinto, Emily Hinz and Nan Glinsek, and freshman Gabby Bland each registered their first points of their careers this season.
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. Bland knocked in the game-winner marker on her first collegiate shot versus Northern State on Sept. 24.
BRICK HOUSE: UMD has allowed eight goals this year (.767 GAA) which marks them as the 56th best defense in the country in goals allowed per game. That average gives the Bulldogs the fourth best scoring margin among the conference (0.86).
NOT ON HER WATCH: Junior goalkeeper Sisley Ng recorded three of the four Bulldog shutouts thus far. Ng's .731 goals against average slots her 59th in the nation and her .842 save percentage places herself at 64th in the land.
GOOOOOOOAL!: Skye Finley leads the team with four goals, which ranks her tied for fourth in the NSIC. The co-captain trails only Rachael Norton (BSU), Megan Lowery (Mary) and Sofia Lewis (MISU) for the distinction of top goal scorer. She is also tied for second in game-winning tallies with three. Finley also paces the entire conference in shots and shots per game.
WHAT A FEED: Natalie St. Martin does more than just score goals. Her team-leading six assists occupy the top slot in the conference and 11th in all of Division II. St. Martin has gathered two assists on two occasions. She helped on two assists in the season opener against Wisconsin-Parkside and again in the comeback win over Upper Iowa.
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.
BEHIND THE CRYSTAL BALL: In the annual NSIC Preseason Coaches Poll, the Bulldogs were tabbed with a sixth place finish. The top distinction went to Minnesota State University-Mankato, which garnered 11 first-place votes and 217 points overall. Augustana University was second with 210 points (five first-place votes) followed by Bemidji State University (188), Minot State University (187), St. Cloud State University (165) then UMD.
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 claimed its first-ever national ranking in 1999. One year later, UMD set a team record with 17 wins 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 and five NAIA District 12 titles in his nine years. Cane later played an integral role in establishing the St. Scholastica women's soccer program in 1990.
2016 ACCOLADES: Three returning Bulldogs earned All-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference citations for their contributions a season ago. Finley was the only third-team choice. Junior defenders Lizzy Fontes and Hjort were pegged honorable mention selections. Each backliner netted their first career goals.
THE 250 WATCH: Cane needs two more victories to become a member of the 250-win club at UMD. Cane will be on pace to become the 13th coach in any sport to accumulate at least 250 wins at the university. Cane clinched milestone win number 200 on Oct. 20, 2012 versus Northern State. Starting the 2017 campaign, his 256 victories at the collegiate level ranks him 13th all-time among NCAA II coaches and his .579 career winning percentage ranks him 11th among coaches with 20-plus years of experience.
THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME: UMD has an impeccable 128-51-12 record playing inside the confines of Malosky Stadium (good for a .702 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: The Bulldogs return to the home pitch next weekend. Southwest Minnesota State University and Sioux Falls University come to Duluth on Oct. 14-15. Both games are slated for 1:00 p.m. kickoffs.
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