THE OPENING KICK: It all comes down to the final two matches of the regular season. The University of Minnesota Duluth squares off against the University of Mary and Minot State University this weekend with playoff hopes hanging in the balance. The Bulldogs are tied with two other teams for the eighth and final Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference postseason spot. UMD is one of seven teams that are separated by five points looking to officially lock up a spot. The Marauders will head to James S. Malosky Stadium to play the Bulldogs Friday, Oct. 26 at 1:00 p.m. in the last home match of the season. The Beavers, in the regular season finale will host the Bulldogs Sunday, Oct. 28 at 12:00 p.m.
THE CHANCE TO GO TO THE NSIC POSTSEASON: The Bulldogs would all but lock up a spot into the NSIC postseason with a pair of wins this weekend. Bemidji State, Minnesota State Mankato and Augustana have all clinched spots. The unpredictable last weekend has seven teams, including UMD, fighting for one of the last five spots. The tie breaker consists of the following options, in order: head-to-head matchup, goal differential (GD), goals for (GF), goals against (GA) and coin flip.
NSIC RECORD POINTS
4. St. Cloud State 7-3-3 24
5. Minot State 7-4-2 23
6. Concordia-St. Paul 6-4-3 21
7. U-Mary 6-5-2 20
T-8. Northern State 6-6-1 19
T-8. UMD 6-6-1 19
T-8. Winona State 6-6-1 19
SCOUTING REPORT ON U-MARY: The Marauders (7-6-2, 6-5-2 NSIC) are alone in seventh with 19 points. Mary is 3-3-1 on the road and typically get out to fast starts with 13 of its 19 goals this season coming in the first half. It is out shooting opponents 176-143 and have five more corner kicks (75-70). The Marauders have given up 15 goals in the second half or overtime. Caylin Cathey leads the Marauders with seven goals, three assists for 17 points. She has only 10 shots on goal and has three game winners. The other striker is Megan Lowery who has three goals on 31 total shots. Hannah Richter has a team-leading four assists. Madisyn Waltman is 6-6-2 as the starting goalkeeper. She owns a 1.03 goals against average and a 78.6 saves percentage.
SCOUTING REPORT ON MINOT STATE: The Beavers (9-4-3; 7-4-2 NSIC) are fifth in the NSIC standing with 23 points. Minot State is tough to beat at home, sporting a 6-2-2 record. It has shutout its last three opponents and have gone on to outshot those teams by a 56-17 margin. The Beavers have scored 31 goals (1.94 per game) and have allowed 16 (1.00). Sofia Lewis is second in the NSIC with 30 points. She leads the Beavers with 12 goals and six assists. Those 12 goals are also second in the conference. The other dangerous scorer is Haley Berryman, who has eight goals and three assists for 19 points. That duo has 61 shots on goal or roughly half of the club's shots. Erin Rafferty has all of Minot State's decisions. Rafferty has surrendered 13 goals for a 0.84 goals against average. She holds a 75.9 saves percentage.
THE SERIES: The Bulldogs are 8-4-3 against the Marauders. U-Mary won last season 2-1 in Duluth. Megan Lowery scored in the 24th minute and Caylin Cathey added another on a penalty kick. Senior forward Destiny Schmitz scored the lone marker for UMD. The Bulldogs have not won a decision over the Marauders since 2014 -- 0-1-2 in the last three.
The Bulldogs are 1-5 against the Beavers. Minot State claimed a 1-0 shutout last season in Minot. Sofia Lewis scored the only marker in the 43rd minute. UMD has not scored against the Beavers in the last three contests and last won in 2013, its only victory.
HOW THEY RANK: Here is how UMD stacks up against Mary and Minot State with their records, points in the NSIC, and the latest United Soccer Coaches Division II poll.
TEAM RECORD NSIC POLL REGIONAL
UMD 7-8-1 19 (T-8th) NR NR
MARY 7-6-2 20 (7th) NR NR
MISU 9-4-3 23 (5th) NR 9th
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 got back into the win column with a pair of home victories last week. The Bulldogs toppled Southwest Minnesota State 2-1 behind a pair of goals by senior forward Madison Carey. The University of Sioux Falls was eliminated from postseason contention last Sunday by UMD after junior forward Nan Glinsek scored in the 55th minute.
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.
CREATING OPPORTUNITIES: Despite having the 12th best scoring offense, the Bulldogs have the fifth most assists in the NSIC with 21.
HIT EM' WITH YOUR BEST SHOT: UMD isn't shy to let it fly. The Bulldogs are third in the league averaging 17.1 shots per game and are also the third highest shots on goal total with 8.5 shots on goal per match.
PEPPERING KEEPERS: The Bulldogs have at least eight shots on goal in the last eight contests.
ON THE DEFENSIVE: UMD has the fifth lowest goal against average (0.94) in the NSIC. Also, with the duo of seniors Sisley Ng and Carlye Wright, have the fifth highest saves percentage, stopping 82.6 percent of shots on goal.
PLAYING BY THE BOOK: UMD averages the fewest fouls per match in the NSIC at 5.69 fouls.
GOTTA SCORE FIRST: In all 16 contest the Bulldogs have played, the team that scores first comes out with the victory. UMD is 7-0 when scoring first. Opponents are 8-0 when striking first.
SAVING HER BEST FOR LAST: Junior forward Madison Carey has produced her best season yet in her final collegiate go-around. Carey has a career high three goals for six points which doubles her output from her first three seasons combined.
FINDING HER MARK: Six points in the first two seasons, junior midfielder Nan Glinsek has scored a career high 10 points including a five-point weekend with two goals and an assist against Northern State and MSU Moorhead. Glinsek had both game-winning goals and has three already this season. Her four goals is best among her teammates.
LENDING A FOOT: From the backline, senior defender Lizzy Fontes is leading UMD with four assists. Fontes is tied for the league lead with Abby Hausken (Minnesota State) with most assists as a defender.
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 5,480 minutes and St. Martin is at 5,721 minutes. When minutes were kept track at the start of the 2006 season, Hjort has the sixth most minutes played while St. Martin is third among the program's elite time consumers.
1. Riley Allen 5,979
2. Emily Fleissner 5,780
3. Natalie St. Martin 5,721
4. Dani Potter 5,584
5. Jennifer Smith 5,509
6. Erika Hjort 5,480
HOTSHOT: Senior forward Natalie St. Martin also has climbed the program ranks in terms of shooting the ball. She has also compiled 152 shots for her career, the 10th most shots by any Bulldog. Since the stat was tracked in 2002, St. Martin has registered 77 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 60 games for the Bulldogs during their four-year careers. Since starts were tracked in 2006, the foursome are creeping into the top 10 charts.
1. Jennifer Smith 78
T-2. Hannah Keil 73
T-2. Maureen Stormont 73
T-4. Dani Potter 68
T-4. Natalie St. Martin 68
T-6. Kelly Klun 65
T-6. Riley Allen 65
T-6. Lizzy Fontes 65
T-9. Emily Fleissne 63
T-9. Erika Hjort 63
11. Laura Edgren 62
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.
UP NEXT: With the regular season concluding this Sunday, the Bulldogs will hope to travel on the road next Wednesday in the NSIC Tournament. The NSIC Quarterfinals will be played Wednesday, Oct. 31 with the top four teams hosting the opening round.
