The University of Minnesota Duluth soccer team hosts the University of Mary on Friday, followed by Minot State University on Sunday afternoon.
UMD is looking for their first win this month and should have a good showing against this weekend's opponents. The Bulldogs rank two spots ahead of UMary and MSU, who are currently tied for 13th in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.
So far this season, both the Marauders and Beavers have gone 1-3-1 in conference play. However, each team will pose their own unique challenges.
UMary
Mary has not played since last Friday, when they lost 2-1 to Augustana. Prior to that, they earned their only conference win against Southwest Minnesota State, shutting them out 1-0.
The Marauders have had a low-scoring season, with five goals total.
Sophomore and Minot-native MaLiah Burke currently leads the team with two goals. Burke scored Mary's lone goal in their match against Augustana.
The Marauders and Bulldogs last faced off on Sept. 11, 2022, a 1-1 tie. The three previous matchups Mary shut out UMD, two of which were won by a single goal.
For the Bulldogs, who have also had some scoring trouble this season, the key to a win will be getting solid chances on net early.
UMD takes on Mary at 6 p.m. on Friday at Malosky Stadium.
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Minot State
The Beavers began the season with three non-conference wins in a row, but faltered when faced with other NSIC opponents. So far this season the only conference matchup where MSU has come out on top was against UMD's other opponent this weekend, a 2-1 win over Mary.
Last Sunday, the Beavers were shut out by Augustana 2-0.
Junior Yossi Villagrana leads MSU in points and goals, scoring her most recent of two goals against Minnesota State Mankato two weekends ago.
The most recent game between the Bulldogs and Beavers was also low-scoring, a 1-0 win for UMD last September.
In their past seven matches, the winner has shut out their opponent, making scoring first even more of a priority.
UMD takes on MSU at 12 p.m. on Sunday at Malosky Stadium.
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