THE OPENING KICK: The University of Minnesota Duluth hits the road this weekend to take on two conference opponents in Southwest Minnesota State (Oct. 25) and Sioux Falls (Oct. 27).

SCOUTING REPORT ON SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA STATE: Southwest Minnesota State comes off a weekend where they dropped two games, one to UMary (3-0) and the other to Minot State (3-2) The Mustangs are carrying a 6-6-0 overall (4-6-0 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, tied for eighth) record. Southwest Minnesota State was out shot both games, but never by more than two shots. Erin Kasmarik-Mallett is currently in her fifth season as head coach, every season with the Mustangs. She carries a 25-55-3 overall (.319) record in those five years.
Alli Miskowiec is the Mustangs leading scorer this season. She currently has five goals and just as many assists for 10 points on the season. She also leads the team in shots, shooting 40 on the year (24 of them hitting the net). That ranks fifth in the NSIC. Alex Lotts is just behind her, putting in four goals on the year, assisting on three goals as well, carrying 11 points on the year. The Mustangs have six different goal scores on the year. Amanda Haimes has played every game for Southwest Minnesota State this year, playing 1081 minutes on the year while carrying a .722 save percentage and a 1.66 goals against average.

SCOUTING REPORT ON SIOUX FALLS: Sioux Falls comes finished the weekend dropping two games. The Cougars lost to Minot State (3-1) and to UMary (1-0). Sioux Falls carries a 2-10-1 overall (2-7-1 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, sitting in 14th) record in 2019. The Cougars were out shot in both games, 24-2 v UMary and 14-11 v Minot State. Brittany Domino is in her fifth season as head coach, all of them with Sioux Falls. She has a 17-56-11 record in that span, good for a .268 win percentage.
Grace Held leads the charge with two goals for the Cougars on the year, putting up four points and seven shots (six hitting the net) on the year. Three separate players have three points for Sioux Falls, all three with one goal and one assist. The Cougars have had three goalies play this year, with Alexis Wemhoff doing a majority of the work, playing 765 minutes on the year. She has a .776 save percentage, as well as a 1.76 goals against average on the year.  

THE SERIES: The University of Minnesota Duluth has had good fortunes when it comes to Southwest Minnesota State. The Bulldogs carry a 24-4-0 overall record against the Mustangs. UMD is 2-1 against Southwest Minnesota State with the Bulldogs taking last years match up 2-1. The two teams have broke even in goals over that span at six a side. Sioux Falls hasn't had any better luck against UMD, with the Bulldogs leading the series 6-0-1. UMD took last years match 1-0, and have taken two of the last three matches with one tie. The Bulldogs have out scored the Cougars 3-2 in that stretch.
 
HOW THEY RANK: Here is how UMD stacks up against Southwest Minnesota State and Sioux Falls in both the NSIC, their overall records, and the latest United Soccer Coaches Division II poll.
 

SCHOOL	NSIC	OVERALL	COACHES POLL
UMD	13th	4-7-2	NR
SMSU	T-8th	6-6-0	NR
USF	14th	2-10-1	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 six on the year, most recently scoring on a penalty kick against MSU Moorhead on Oct. 13 in a 1-1 tie. Hinz also has 13 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 six goals on the year, averaging .462 goals per game. She is ranked sixth in the NSIC for goals and sixth for goals per game. She has 13 points (1.00 per game), ranking tied for ninth the NSIC and tied for ninth for points per game.

SPREADING THE WEALTH: The Bulldogs have 11 different goal scorers through 13 games, with four of those goal scores scoring their first of their career. UMD also has 14 players with points this season, with 13 of them having at least two or more points.

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).

UP NEXT: The Bulldogs continue the road tour, heading to Bismarck, SD to face-off against UMary (Nov. 1) before coming back to Duluth, Minn. to host Minot State (Nov. 3).

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.