THE OPENING KICK: After a successful defense on home turf Tuesday, the University of Minnesota Duluth takes its unblemished 4-0 record back into battle against a pair of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference matchups. The Bulldogs clash against No. 15-ranked Minnesota State University, Mankato at 1:00 p.m. Saturday for Military Appreciation Day. Sunday afternoon features Concordia-St. Paul coming to James S. Malosky Stadium to conclude a three-game homestand.

SCOUTING REPORT ON MINNESOTA STATE-MANKATO: The Mavericks dropped five spots in the United Soccer Coaches poll when they suffered their first defeat to No. 12 Grand Valley State University 2-0. This is the first NSIC action for MSU. Despite only scoring three goals, the Mavericks have posted 58 shots with 35 of those going on goal (NSIC-best 19.3 shots/game). 
Lauren Kizlik and Alisha Duccini lead the Mavs in shots attempted. Kizlik, Julia Zack and Julia Mixon each have tallied a goal. All three of the MSU goalies have each posted up in between the pipes for 90 minutes of action.

SCOUTING REPORT ON CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL: The Golden Bears will square off versus St. Cloud State University before traveling to Duluth. Concordia-St. Paul comes into Friday holding a 2-1 record.
Jordan Rowan-Stafford is atop of the Golden Bear charts in points (3) and shots (10). Five different players have notched a goal for the Bears. Keeper Emily Nelson has spent the most time in net logging  183:35 minutes in two games of action.

THE SERIES: The matchup between the Bulldogs and the Mavericks will be the 31st meeting between the two squads. MSU have a 18-8-4 advantage over UMD, which was last victorious versus the Mavs in the 2011 regular season finale. A year ago, MSU shutout the Bulldogs 5-0.
The matchup between the Bulldogs and the Golden Bears will be the 19th time the teams have met. The Bulldogs are 16-1-1 in the previous encounters, going winless at last two. CSP scored a late goal to force a tie in 2016.

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 Poll            Regional Poll
UMD                 NR                             NR
MSU                 15th                           2nd
CSP                  NR                             NR

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

LAST TIME OUT: UMD grinded out three points in the conference opener to St. Cloud State at home on Tuesday.
Senior defender Emily Fleissner netted the match's only goal in the 73rd minute. Fleissner's header came off a senior defender Anna Morrison corner kick. Junior goalkeeper Sisley Ng made the most impressive save of the night matching one-on-one with a husky forward. Ng came out of her net and diverted the scoring chance wide. The White Bear Minn., native tabbed her second shutout and sixth overall.

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.
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.

YOU'LL ALWAYS REMEMBER YOUR FIRST: Junior midfielder Madison Carey and sophomore Mikayla Iaquinto each registered their first points of their careers. Carey assisted on UMD's third goal against the Rangers on Aug. 31. Iaquinto posted her assist on Nash's tally off the crossbar versus the Huskies on Sept. 10.

YOU SHALL NOT PASS: The Bulldog defense has been ruthless to opposing offenses to start the season. UMD allowed its first goal of the season against Michigan Tech in the 63rd minute. That ended the Bulldogs' 242:25 minute streak without allowing a goal. During that stretch, the backline has allowed 17 shots (5.3 shots/game) total and a mere seven shots on goal (2.3 SOG/game).

With the shutout to the Huskies on Tuesday, UMD has allowed only one goal in the first 360 minutes of play. The stretch is on par to the 2000 season when the Bulldogs allowed one goal in their opening seven games. UMD is 18th in the country is goals allowed a game.

TOP DOGS: Forwards Skye Finley and Natalie St. Martin have leap to the top of the NSIC scoring charts and rank among the best in the league. The duo share the conference lead in points (7) and are tied for second in points per game (1.75) behind the University of Mary's Caylin Cathey.

GOOOOOOOAL!: Skye Finley shares the distinction of the No. 1 goal scorer. The co-captain is one of the two players in the conference to boot in three markers. She is also tied at the top in game-winning tallies.

WHAT A FEED: Natalie St. Martin does more than just score. The right-footer has been included on the most scoring plays in the NSIC. Her three assists occupy the No. 1 spot in the conference and 15th in the nation.

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, and has paced the sideline for each of the team's 431 matches during the program's 24-year existence. During that time, the Duluth native has won at a .612 clip, piling up an overall record of 245-145-41.
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. UMD would finish seventh in the final National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll.
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. Additionally, Cane has manufactured a trio of NSIC Offensive Players of the Year, a pair of NSIC Defensive Players of the Year and a NSIC Newcomer of the Year (Sheridan Reiners) in 2014.
In his nine years with the Saints, Cane rolled up a 106-53-12 mark while winning two National Small Colleges Athletic Association National Championships and five NAIA District 12 titles. Cane later played an integral role in establishing the St. Scholastica women's soccer program in 1990 and posted an overall mark of 15-35-2 as the team's head coach from 1990-93. In September 2013, Cane was inducted into the St. Scholastica Athletic Hall of Fame.

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 five 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 127-50-11 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 trek across the state for an NSIC tilt against Minnesota State University-Moohead next Friday, Sept. 22. First kick in Moorhead, Minn., starts at 3:00 p.m.

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