THE OPENING KICK: The University of Minnesota Duluth heads out on the road for its first Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference weekend. The Bulldogs will pair up against the University of Minnesota Crookston at UMC Soccer Field on Friday at 3:00 p.m. to get the weekend started before wrapping it up Sunday at 1:00 p.m. versus Bemidji State University at Chet Anderson Stadium.

SCOUTING REPORT ON MINNESOTA CROOKSTON: The Golden Eagles (0-4-0; 0-1-0 NSIC) are in search of their first win this season and first since Oct. 23, 2016 -- a 1-0 win over Southwest Minnesota State -- a stretch of 23 winless (0-20-3) matches. Friday's match will be the home opener for Minnesota Crookston and seventh-year head coach Joe Alianiello.
The Golden Eagles were shutout 3-0 to Sunday's opponent Bemidji State. Minnesota Crookston was out shot that contest 25-4 including 15-1 in the second half. Olivia Puttin stopped nine shots and Jessica Scott had two shots on goal. The Golden Eagles will have to do a better job dictating the pace as they have allowed 23.8 shots per game compared to collecting just 4.8 shots on the opposition.
The Bulldogs will have to mark Maggee Hodgdon. The freshman has a pair of goals and four points, leading the club in both categories. Jessica Withrow has the other goal while Kayla Strangeland and Scott each have registered an assist on the year. Mataya Mierzejewski has been the anchor on the back line playing all 360 minutes. Puttin has made three starts in net and has allowed nine goals (3.00 GAA) while making 37 saves and a .804 saves percentage.

SCOUTING REPORT ON BEMIDJI STATE: The Beavers (4-0-0; 1-0-0 NSIC) are ranked 14th in the United Soccer Coaches Division II poll, having moved up eight spots after dispatching Michigan Tech, Minnesota Crookston and Division I foe North Dakota. Jim Stone is the head coach for Bemidji State and is in his 17th season of service.
The Beavers handed North Dakota its first loss of the season on Rachael Norton's goal. Bemidji State is averaging 16.2 shots per game and only allowing 7.2 shots. The Beavers have allowed only one goal this season to Michigan Tech and collectively share a .929 saves percentage. 
Nine players have gathered a point this season for Bemidji State. The Bulldogs will have to prepare for the trio of Norton, Dani Nelson, and Allyson Smith. All three have two goals. Smith, the reigning NSIC Freshman of the Year, leads the team with six points and had a career high five points against Michigan Tech. Norton, 2017 NSIC Offensive Player of the Year, has notched a team leading 21 shots.

THE SERIES: The Bulldogs are 14-1-1 in 16 all-time matchups against Minnesota Crookston. UMD has won two straight. Last season, the Bulldogs won 1-0 at Minnesota Crookston.
The Bulldogs are 16-5-4 in 25 lifetime meetings against Bemidji State. UMD has not won since 2014 and has tied Bemidji State each of the last two seasons. Last season, the Bulldogs played to a 2-2 draw at Malosky Stadium.

HOW THEY RANK: Here is how UMD stacks up against Minnesota Crookston and Bemidji State in the NSIC standings, their records, and the latest United Soccer Coaches Division II poll.
TEAM            NSIC             RECORDS            POLL
UMD           0-1 (T-8th)            1-3-0                   NR
UMC           0-1 (T-8th)            0-4-0                   NR
BSU            1-0 (T-1st)             4-0-0                 14th

THE BROADCAST: All NSIC matches will be carried live through a video stream and is available for free at: portal.stretchinternet.com/umd/

LIVE STATS: To follow the action via live stats follow the links below.

Friday vs. Minnesota Crookston: goldeneaglesports.com/sidearmstats/wsoc/summary

Sunday vs. Bemidji State: stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=230411

LAST WEEK MATCHES: UMD walked away with a pair of losses last week. The Bulldogs was shutout 3-0 to Division I University of North Dakota. Katie Moller netted a hat trick for the Fighting Hawks as they out shot UMD 21-12. The Bulldogs entered NSIC competition Sunday against St. Cloud State and came out with a 2-1 overtime loss to the Huskies in St. Cloud, Minn. UMD has shorthanded much of the match after being assessed a red card midway through the second half. Hannah Marion scored off a corner kick just two minutes into the match and knocked in the game winner in the 94th minute. Junior midfielder Nan Glinsek tied it in the 67th minute on a missile that lofted just high enough past the grasp of the Husky keeper.

AGAINST TOP 25 CLUBS: The Bulldogs are 7-22-5 against ranked opponents in the top 25 dating back to 2004. They are winless in their last nine matches with their last win coming on Nov. 5, 2014 against No. 24 Augustana in the first round of the NSIC Tournament.

WHO WILL STEP UP TO ANCHOR THE BACK LINE?: The Bulldogs will be missing a valuable asset on the back line with senior defender Erika Hjort suspended one match for her red card versus the Huskies. Hjort was carded after battling for a 50-50 ball near the box. UMD will have to fend off the Golden Eagles without its premier defender that has played 4,553 minutes in 56 games and helped pitch 16 shutouts in her career.

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 seventh in career saves (189), ninth in saves percentage (.791), seventh in shutouts (nine), ninth in goals against average (1.24), and eighth in wins (14).

FINDING THE OFFENSIVE FORM: On Sunday, the Bulldogs established team highs in shots and shots on goal. UMD attempted 15 shots and naled 10 of those on goal. The .667 on-goal percentage was the highest shooting clip of the season

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.

BRINGING THE PACK BACK: UMD returns 22 letterwinners from last season including eight starters and two all-conference players. The Bulldogs have 15 upperclassmen, 10 of those seasoned veterans are seniors suiting up in their final collegiate seasons.

THE NEW DOGS ON THE BLOCK: The Bulldogs added six freshmen, a redshirt freshman from Northern Michigan and a goalie formerly on the UMD women's hockey team to the 2018 roster. All six freshmen -- forward Hannah Caldwell (Prior Lake, Minn.), forward Mandy Conkel (Eagan, Minn.), defender Kirsten Dagel (Eden Prairie, Minn.), midfielder Alli Jenkins (Coon Rapids, Minn.), midfielder Ebelin Morales Benites (Minneapolis, Minn.), and midfielder Julia Osborne (Andover, Minn.) -- hail from the Land of 10,000 Lakes. Rebecca Osborne is a goalkeeper transfer from Green Bay, Wis., and Jessica Convery, a native of Commence Township, Mich., joins the soccer team after exhausting her hockey eligibility.

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.

2017 ACCOLADES: Four players were bestowed all-conference honors. Skye Finley received NSIC First Team honors from the conference. Natalie St. Martin was awarded second team honors, and Emily Fleissner and Destiny Schmitz were third team picks. St. Martin and Finley each collected NSIC Player of the Week citations. Finley went on to be selected as a first team United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-Region, which eventually directed her to being named to the third team Scholar All-American team.

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

UP NEXT: The Bulldogs finally head home for its 2018 home opener on Sept. 21 against No. 17 Minnesota State University Mankato. Friday night is the beginning of the 25th anniversary celebration weekend.