THE OPENING KICK: Having won three of the last four heading into the weekend, the University of Minnesota Duluth will look to ascend farther up the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference on the road. The Bulldogs travel to long-standing rival Winona State to take on the Warriors Friday at 7:00 p.m. Last-place Upper Iowa battles UMD on Sunday afternoon at noon in Fayette, Iowa.

SCOUTING REPORT ON WINONA STATE: The Warriors (4-5-1; 4-4-1 NSIC) are in a four-way tie for sixth in the NSIC with 13 points. After a rough start Winona State has won three in a row by a 7-1 combined score. 

The Warriors hold a slight advantage in the scoring department, leading 15-13. They are outshooting opponents on average 17 to 11. Winona State, who is 2-3 on the road this season, have scored 12 of its 15 goals in the second half or later. 

Melissa Greco is one of 11 different goal scorers for the Warriors. Greco has a team-leading three goals for six points. She has both penalty kick tallies. Alyssa Reynolds lead the club with two assists. Courtney Wiencek has two goals and leads the team with 30 shots. Jordan Valkner has played in nine games and has a record of 3-5-1 with two shutouts. Valkner was an 1.41 goals against average and a 76.4 saves percentage.

SCOUTING REPORT ON UPPER IOWA: The Peacocks (2-9-1; 2-5 NSIC) are last in the NSIC with four points. They are winless over the last three with a tie with Augustana last Saturday.

Upper Iowa has scored seven goals this season and given up 21 goals. It is putting up 8.9 shots per game and allowing almost twice (16.1) as many. The Peacocks, who have scored a pair of PKs, are averaging 0.58 goals per game. They have been beaten late in games given up 11 second half goals and a pair of goals in the overtime sessions (0-2-1).

Haley Ramberg and Katie Samuels lead Upper Iowa in the points department with a pair of goals for four points. Maida Alijagic has three points on a goal and an assist. Alijagic and Facienne Graham pace the Peacocks with 18 shots each. Natalie Rudrud is the starting goalkeeper and has a 2-9-1 record with a pair of shutouts. Rudrud has an 1.67 goals against average and a 80.4 saves percentage.

THE SERIES: The Bulldogs are 12-16-3 against the Warriors. UMD has won only once since taking all three decisions in 2013. Winona State has won four of the last five including a 2-1 win in Winona last year. 
The Bulldogs are 6-4-0 versus the Peacocks in 10 all-time matchups. UMD was outscored 6-0 from 2014-16 before rebounding with a 2-1 victory last season in Fayette, Iowa thanks to a pair of goals from senior forward Destiny Schmitz. 

HOW THEY RANK: Here is how UMD stacks up against Northern State and MSU Moorhead with their records, points in the NSIC, and the latest United Soccer Coaches Division II poll.
TEAM        RECORDS            NSIC            POLL
UMD              5-6-1              13 (T-6th)          NR
WSU              5-6-1              13 (T-6th)          NR
UIU                2-9-1               4 (16th)            NR

THE BROADCAST: All NSIC matches at home will be carried live through a video stream with Josh Wallace on the call, with live stats, and is available for free at: portal.stretchinternet.com/umd/

LAST WEEK MATCHES: UMD was down right dominant last weekend pitching a pair of 2-0 shutouts against Northern State and MSU Moorhead. The Bulldogs combined to outshot both the Wolves and the Dragons 45-6. Senior goalkeeper Sisley Ng only had to make two saves over the weekend. Junior midfielder Nan Glinsek scored both game winners while senior forward Natalie St. Martin and senior midfielder Madison Carey each netted insurance markers. Senior defender Lizzy Fontes racked up two assists on the weekend. 

FIRST YEAR LUCK: The freshmen class has accounted for 28.2 percent of the production. Four freshmen (Julia Osborne, Hannah Caldwell, Haley Ford and Alli Jenkins) have combined to score four goals and three assists for 11 points.

REMEMBERING YOUR FIRST: A trio of Bulldogs have netted their first collegiate goals this season. Freshmen Julia Osborne and Hannah Caldwell and redshirt freshman Haley Ford have booted their first tallies in a Bulldog uniform in three separate matches. Osborne scored the game winner against Northern Michigan. Caldwell scored the third goal in a 3-0 win over Minnesota Crookston. Ford compiled her tally in the match versus Bemidji State.

PRODUCTION FROM WHERE YOU LEAST EXPECT: The starters XI should have most of your scoring production. However, six of the 12 goals this season have been scored off the bench.

SECOND HALF DOGS: Eight of the 12 UMD's goals this season have come in the second half of play.

FINDING HER MARK: Six points in the first two seasons, junior midfielder Nan Glinsek has scored a career high eight points after a five-point weekend with two goals and an assist. Glinsek had both game-winning goals against Northern State and MSU Moorhead.

LENDING A FOOT: From the backline, senior defender Lizzy Fontes is leading UMD with three assists. Fontes has now registered three assists in each of the last seasons. The Apple Valley, Minn., native has posted an assist in two straight matches.

ARE YOU IN GOOD HANDS?: Senior goalkeeper Sisley Ng has climbed the ranks among the program's record book for keepers. Walked on days prior to her freshman campaign, Ng sits fourth in career saves (223), eighth in saves percentage (.802), seventh in shutouts (13.0), seventh in goals against average (1.15), and seventh in wins (18).

ROLLING OVER 5K MINUTES: Seniors Erika Hjort and Natalie St. Martin have each eclipsed the 5,000-minute played mark for their respective careers. Hjort is at 5,395 minutes and St. Martin is at 5,272 minutes. When minutes were kept track at the start of the 2006 season, Hjort has the eighth most minutes played while St. Martin is sixth among the program's elite minute eaters.

3. Dani Potter                 2010-13         5,584
4. Jennifer Smith            2011-14          5,509
5. Maureen Stormont      2011-14         5,443
6. Erika Hjort                  2015-            5,395
7. Hannah Keil                 2011-14        5,333
8. Natalie St. Martin       2015-             5,272

HOTSHOT: Senior forward Natalie St. Martin also has climbed the program ranks in terms of shots on goal. Since the stat was tracked in 2006, St. Martin has registered 69 shots on goal, which is seventh most in program history.

RELIABLE QUARTET: Four seniors -- Laura Edgren, Lizzy Fontes, Erika Hjort and Natalie St. Martin -- have all started at least 58 games for the Bulldogs during their four-year careers. Since starts were tracked in 2006, the foursome are creeping into the top 10 charts.

T-5. Kelly Klun             2011-14           65
T-5. Riley Allen            2011-14           65
T-5. Natalie St. Martin 2015-             65
8. Emily Fleissner         2014-17          63
T-9. Megan Helberg     2011-14          61
T-9. Lizzy Fontes         2015-             61
      Erika Hjort             2015-              59
      Laura Edgren         2015-             58

OH CAPTAINS, MY CAPTAINS: A trio of seniors, goalkeeper Sisley Ng, defender Erika Hjort and midfielder Laura Edgren  have been entrenched with the 'C' responsibilities for this fall. Ng is listed as the captain while Hjort and Edgren are the alternates.

NSIC COACHES PICK BULLDOGS SIXTH: UMD was picked to finish sixth in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference for the second consecutive year according to the NSIC coaches' poll. The Bulldogs were selected behind Minnesota State Mankato, Bemidji State, Augustana, Minot State, and Concordia-St. Paul.

NIFTY 250: Cane gathered historic UMD win number 250 at Wayne State. Cane is the 18th coach to hit the milestone at the Division II level all time. His 271 collegiate wins with the St. Scholastica and UMD clubs ranks him 11th among active head coaches.

UP NEXT: The Bulldogs return home to Malosky Stadium to play Southwest Minnesota State University and the University of Sioux Falls next weekend.