THE OPENING KICK: The University of Minnesota Duluth is set to play host to Augustana (SD) on Friday, and Wayne State College on Sunday, this weekend.

"KICKS FOR CAUSES"- MN BRAIN INJURY ALLIANCE & SANNEH FOUNDATION: The UMD soccer team has used their home matchups since its initiation in 2014 as a way to give back to the community by highlighting organizations and charities that student-athletes have chosen to represent. Junior Defender Jenna Eichten has chosen to represent MN Brain Injury Alliance for Friday's game, and senior midfielder Sophie Horn has chosen to represent the Sanneh Foundation for Sunday's game. The Sanneh Foundation accepts cleats, sports bras, tennis shoes and anything athletic. Not all of the donations go to Africa, Sanneh is also linked with the Minneapolis community to support girls in sports in the area.

SCOUTING REPORT ON AUGUSTANA (SD): The Vikings are currently 5-1-1 and riding a two game road win streak, while going 4-0-1 in their last five. Augustana has out scored their opponents 10-3 in that stretch. The Vikings are coming off a weekend where they squeaked by UMary in a 1-0 contest, then went on to beat Minot State in a 3-0 contest, outshooting the Beavers by 12 shots (by nine shots on goal). The Vikings head coach, Brandon Barkus, is in his 14th year at the helm, boasting a 144-95-28 record over that time, good for a .592 winning percentage.
Sylvia Fehr, leading point scorer for Augustana, currently has nine points on the year, score four goals (leads the team) and adding on one assist to her total. Fehr's nine points currently rank ninth in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. Augustana has 11 point getters and six different goal scorers. Claudia Pueschner has done a majority of the goalkeeping for the Vikings, playing 605 minutes over the year. She has 29 saves (ranks for 11th in the NSIC) and sports a .829 save percentage (good for 10th in the NSIC).   

SCOUTING REPORT ON WAYNE STATE COLLEGE: The Wildcats are currently 2-3-3 and have gone 2-2-1 in their last five. Wayne State has been able to put away only three goals in that stretch. The Wildcats are coming of a weekend where they split with a win against Minot State (2-1), outshooting the Beavers 15-6 (8-4 on net) and a loss coming to UMary (0-4). Joe Cleary is in his third season as head coach for Wayne State, boasting a 10-23-9 overall record during his tenure (good for a .345 win percentage).
The Wildcats leading scorer, Rylie Wehner, has four points on the year (accounting for a quarter of the teams points). She has two goals, accounting for 2/3 of the teams goals production on the year. Wayne State has four point getters on the year, with two goal scorers. Megan Phillips has 15 shots on the year, putting 12 on net, good for a .800 percentage of her shots being on net. Rachel Grisham has taken the net for the Wildcats most of the year, playing 656 minutes and seven seconds for the year. She currently boasts a .640 save percentage, amassing three shutouts on the year. Wayne State has a shutout percentage of .571, which ranks fourth in the NSIC and 35th in all DII.

THE SERIES: The Bulldogs have fared well against both the Vikings and the Wildcats, holding winning records over both teams. UMD has an overall record of 12-7-2 against Augustana and was able to beat the Vikings last year, winning in a 1-0 contest. The Bulldogs have been 1-1-1 in the last three contests against Augustana, with the teams splitting even on score at 2 a side. UMD has an all time record of 15-1-2 against Wayne State, losing in last match-up of the two teams, 2-0.  The Bulldogs are 2-1-0 against the Wildcats in their last three match-ups, outscoring Wayne State 6-5 in those contests.
 
HOW THEY RANK: Here is how UMD stacks up against Augustana (SD) and Wayne State in both the NSIC, their overall records, and the latest United Soccer Coaches Division II poll.
 

School	NSIC	Overall	USCO
UMD	13th	3-4-0	NR
AUG	2nd	5-1-1	NR
WSC	7th	2-3-3	NR

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

For those interested in live stats only follow the link and click on the stats button: portal.stretchinternet.com/umd/

AHEAD OF THE CURVE: Senior midfielder Emily Hinz scored two goals against Michigan Tech on Sept. 8, the second game of the season. The two goals sets a career high for goals in a game for Hinz. She also has broke her personal career high in goals in a season. Her old record was two in her sophomore season, she currently has five on the year, most recently scoring against Minnesota State on Sept. 27 in a 2-1 loss in double overtime. Hinz also has 11 points on the season, setting a career high for points on in a year. Her old record was five, also in her sophomore season.  

AHEAD OF THE CURVE: Junior forward Holly Kaboord scored her first game winning goal of her collegiate career against the defending national champions Bridgeport Purple Knights on Sept. 12 in a 3-2 win. The goal was also the first of her career. Kaboord has one goal and assist each, giving her a career high in points in a season with  three.

TOP OF THE BOARD: Hinz has five goals on the year, averaging .714 goals per game. She is ranked second in the NSIC for both goals and goals per game. She also sits 58th in DII for goals per game and 42nd in goals. She has 11 points (1.57 per game), ranking third in the NSIC and second for points per game. She sits in 69th for points and 79th in points per game.

SPREADING THE WEALTH: The Bulldogs have eight different goal scorers through seven games, with four of those goal scores scoring their first of their career. UMD also has 10 players with points this season, all with two points or more on the year.

RECAPPING THE 2018 SEASON: The Bulldogs finished the 2018 season with a 7-10-1 record. The season concluded with the Bulldogs dropping a nail bitter to the Minot State Beavers 1-0.  UMD is looking to improve upon their home record, winning four games in each of the past two seasons at Malosky Stadium, as well as their away record, just 3 wins (the lowest since 2016 when the Bulldogs went 3-3-4 on the road).

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME: UMD has an impeccable 138-53-16 record playing inside the confines of James S. Malosky Stadium (good for a .705 winning percentage). Having played all 26 seasons inside the 4,500-seat venue, the Bulldogs have had only three losing seasons and have capped off three perfect home records, the latest coming in 2009.

UP NEXT: The Bulldogs will hit the road for the second time this season, heading out to Aberdeen, SD. to take on Northern State on Oct. 11, then head to Moorhead, Minn. to take on Moorhead State on Oct. 13.

Follow UMD Athletics all season long by connecting with the Bulldogs on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and subscribing to the Bulldog Productions channel on YouTube. Tickets for all Bulldog home contests are available by accessing your My Bulldog Account, or clicking here.