Senior night was eventful to say the least.

A dominating first half of play. Two goals from a senior. A halftime ceremony decorating the eight seniors. Surrendering a goal late to make it uneasy and filled with tension. In the end, standing tall to come out victorious.

Tonight's game against Southwest Minnesota State University might have been the synopsis to the the University of Minnesota Duluth senior class. The Bulldogs honored midfielder Madison Carey, midfielder Laura Edgren, defender Lizzy Fontes, defender Erika Hjort, goalkeeper Sisley Ng, forward Destiny Schmitz, forward Natalie St. Martin and goalkeeper Carlye Wright in tonight's 2-1 victory over the Mustangs at James S. Malosky Stadium.

The senior class, for much of their four-year careers, have been going with the theatrical route. That makes this 2018 squad exciting, never knowing what might happen in each match. Or possibly infuriating to the coaching staff.

One thing is for sure, they like to make it interesting. Interesting, like tonight.

Carey scored her first goal of the season at the 28:56 mark of the first half. With UMD controlling the pace of play early, St. Martin dribbled around a pair of Mustang defenders near the far corner and played it back to junior defender Mikayla Iaquinto, who pushed up unnoticed. Iaquinto sent a cross deep in the middle of the box and Carey outjumped everyone to head in the first marker of the match. The Bulldogs were like a furious Lake Superior slamming wave after wave into the Canal Park. UMD registered 15 shots in the opening 45 minutes and had nine corner kicks alone in that half as well.

Five minutes and 37 seconds after giving the Bulldogs the lead, Carey connected again. The senior from Maple Grove, Minn., intercepted a clearing chance by SMSU and rifled home her second tally of the night -- and fourth of her career -- on the top right shelf.

The Mustangs offered little to no offense in the first 45 minutes of play. SMSU failed to tally a single shot in that opening half, a Bulldog first this season ans first since the 2-0 of Northern Michigan University on Sept. 8. 2017.

The second half played to the Mustangs advantage with the increasingly strong winds favoring SMSU's direction. The field flipped with UMD haven't to thwart off Mustang chances. It took 52 minutes for SMSU to register its first shot of the evening. Alli Miskowiec made a half turn and fired wide but she didn't miss on her other shot attempt. After a goal kick by Wright, the ball hung up in the air with the whipping wind and Mustang Kelli Wentz corralled the ball and sent it through the backline next to the charging Miskowiec and she bested Wright on a one-on-one with the Bulldog goalkeeper. The Mustangs finally cut the lead in half in the 72nd minute.

Wright and the Bulldog backline stonewalled any other chance pieced together by SMSU to hang on for the victory. The Mustangs had the last four shot attempts. Wright made five saves for her second win of the season. 

With the victory, UMD moves to 6-8-1 overall and 5-6-1 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. With the other conference results, UMD moved into a tie for ninth place in the NSIC standings with Northern State University and is one point behind the University of Mary for the eighth and final playoff spot. The Mustangs drop to 3-11 and 3-9 in league play. 

The Bulldogs will attempt to make it four straight wins at home on Sunday afternoon against the University of Sioux Falls.