It was the University of Minnesota Duluth bench that provided the game-changing moment in Sunday's 1-0 victory over Northern State University. Freshman midfielder Gabby Bland was inserted into the second half lineup as one of the exotic changes made by head coach Greg Cane and she turned her only shot of the contest into the lone tally of the afternoon.The Bulldogs (6-1-1, 3-1-1 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference) broke away from the conference pack as they now sit tied with Concordia University, St. Paul for possession of fourth place.

UMD put on a offensive barrage, totaling a season-high 30 shots with 18 shots in the first half. The last time UMD registered that many shots in a half was on Oct. 17 2014 when the Bulldogs blasted 21 shots in the second half versus Minot State University. Nine different players had at least one shot on goal. Senior forward Skye Finley notched a season-high nine shots. 

The persistence by the UMD attackers kept junior goalkeeper Sisley Ng standing alone on her side of the pitch for the majority of the contest. Ng saved two shots for her third shutout of the year, and eighth overall. The Wolves (3-4-0, 2-3-0 NSIC) got off their first shot with 16 minutes left to play in the opening half. The defense has allowed seven shots or fewer in five games and only two or less on goal in four of those matches.

Bland made her third appearance of the season after sitting out all of last year to recover from an injury. The Eagan, Minn., native only saw 29 minutes of action in her first two games before seeing 30 today against NSU. The redshirt freshman fired her first-ever shot at the net in the 51st minute. It was the biggest shot of her short-lived career thus far. Her shot was tipped by a Wolf defender and curved past the keeper into the net.

"I was honestly in shock when it went in," said Bland. "It was such a happy feeling for me. I was out all last season with an ACL and MCL tear. So to be able to come in and help my team was a fantastic feeling."

Bland's goal was assisted by junior defender Erika Hjort and junior forward Destiny Schmitz, who was also thrusted into the lineup to start the second. Hjort played the ball to Schmitz who raced up the field and ripped the cross over to Bland to set up the game-winning marker. It was Hjort and Schmitz first points of the season.

The Bulldogs begin their longest road stint of the season starting Friday, Sept. 29 with their biggest rivals Winona State University. UMD, now 2-0 away from Malosky Stadium, has three games away from home before it returns.