THE OPENING KICK: The University of Minnesota Duluth takes the pitch at Malosky Stadium for a pair of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference games this weekend against Northen State University and Minnesota State University Moorhead. The Wolves play the Bulldogs Friday under the nights at 6:00 p.m. On Sunday, the Bulldogs and the Dragons will compete at 1:00 p.m. to wrap up the action.

SCOUTING REPORT ON NORTHERN STATE: The Wolves (6-3-1; 4-2-1 NSIC) are fourth in the NSIC standings with 13 points. Northern State won a pair of one-goal games last weekend and have been involved in four straight one-goal games. The Wolves knocked off Winona State 3-2 and Upper Iowa 2-1.
Darian Leschewski leads Northern State with five goals for 11 points. She has three game winning tallies. Shianne Rosselli is second on the team with four goals and 10 points. Rosselli had two goals in the Winona State. Stephany Estrada is the only other goal scorer with mulitple goals. Jessica Otto and Lexie Montoya have split time in goal. Otto is 4-1-1 in six starts with a 0.70 goals against average and a .897 saves percentage. Montoya is 2-2 with a 1.84 GAA. 

SCOUTING REPORT ON MSU-MOORHEAD: The Dragons (2-7; 2-5 NSIC) are 14th in the NSIC standings with six points. MSU Moorhead lost a pair of home games last weekend. Winona State dismantled the Dragons 4-0 and dropped a hard-fought 1-0 decision to Upper Iowa.
Carly Jo Gamrath leads the Dragons with six points on two goals and two assists. Tomoni Nishihara is second with two goals for four points and has both game winners. Jessica Dallman has a goal and a assist on a team-high 14 shots. Kayleigh Sedlacek is 2-5-0 in eight starts and has one shutout. Sedlacek has a 1.56 goals against average and a .835 saves percentage. MSU Moorhead has allowed 13 goals in the second half. It is also getting outshot by almost 10 shots a game.

THE SERIES: The Bulldogs are 15-2-1 against Northern State. UMD won the last meeting 1-0 at home on Sept. 24, 2017. The Wolves' only victory came in 2015 when they won 3-1 at Malosky Stadium. 
The Bulldogs are 19-3-1 versus MSU Moorhead in 23 meetings in the series. Last season, UMD doubled up on the Dragons 2-1 in Moorhead. The Bulldogs won the last six engagements after falling 2-1 on Sept. 17, 2011 on the road.

HOW THEY RANK: Here is how UMD stacks up against Northern State and MSU Moorhead with their records, in the NSIC, and the latest United Soccer Coaches Division II poll.
TEAM        RECORD        NSIC        POLL
UMD             3-6-1            2-4-1           NR
NSU              6-3-1            4-2-1           NR
MSUM            2-7               2-5             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 split last weekend blanking Augustana 1-0 on the road and dropping a 2-0 decision at Wayne State. 

FIRST YEAR LUCK: The freshmen class has accounted for 42.3 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.

BORNE TO BE WILD: Freshman Julia Osborne leads the Bulldogs with six points on a pair of goals and a pair of assists. The midfielder has come off the bench in all eight games this season andmade only two starts. Osborne is second in points among freshmen in the NSIC.

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

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

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 (221), eighth in saves percentage (.801), seventh in shutouts (11), ninth in goals against average (1.19), and tied for seventh in wins (16).

ROLLING OVER 5K MINUTES: Seniors Erika Hjort and Natalie St. Martin have each eslipsed the 5,000-minute played mark for their respective careers. Hjort is at 5,001 minutes and St. Martin is at 5,272 minutes. When minutes were kept track at the start of the 2006 season, Hjort has the 10th most minutes played while St. Martin is seventh among the program's elite minute eaters.

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 67 shots on goal, which is seventh most in program history.

THAT'S A START: Starting all but four games her freshman season, senior forward Natalie St. Martin is in line to start her 50th consecutive match this Friday. 

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.

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME: UMD has an impeccable 134-52-16 record playing inside the confines of James S. Malosky Stadium (good for a .703 winning percentage). Having played all 25 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. 

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 269 collegiate wins with the St. Scholastica and UMD clubs ranks him 13th among head coaches.

UP NEXT: The Bulldogs depart for their second-to-last regular season road trip next weekend with trips to WInona State University and Upper Iowa University.