The University of Minnesota Duluth soccer team will hit the road for some Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play this weekend against two unbeaten foes when they face No. 2 Minnesota State University, Mankato at the Maverick Soccer Complex in Mankato, Minn. Friday at 3:00 p.m. followed by a 1:00 p.m. Sunday contest against St. Cloud State University inside Husky Stadium in St. Cloud, Minn.

WEEKEND PREVIEW: 
vs. Minnesota State: The Bulldogs are 8-24-6 against the Mavericks all-time and have been winless against MSU ( 0-11-3) since defeating them during the 2012 regular season, a 5-0 win on Oct. 12, 2012. After scoring five goals against the Mavericks in that game, UMD has scored just six over the next 14 contests and is averaging just . 46 goals a game in that span. The Bulldogs have played to three ties over those years, and have taken MSU into overtime four times, including a tie that resulted in a penalty kick shootout in the 2012 NSIC Championship game. That tie – as it went down officially – helped the Bulldogs secure home field advantage for the longest NCAA Tournament run in program history – a trip to the NCAA Elite Eight (which was hosted on Griggs Field).

More recently, the Mavericks defeated the Bulldogs on Oct. 4, 2024 in Duluth, Minn. 1-0 with a goal scored at the 72:27 mark. MSU outshot UMD 9-0 in shots on goal, and then junior netminder Kaycee Chavez made eight stops in the match. Five yellow cards were handed out in the game, including four that went against the Bulldogs – three in the second half.

Currently, MSU is 8-0-1 and 6-0 in NSIC play. Ranked second in the nation after finishing the 2024 season as the NCAA runner-ups, the Mavericks are averaging 2.22 goals a game and are led by sophomore forward Marin Johnson, who has four goals and two assists for 10 points in nine games played. 

MSU enters Friday's game having attempted 59 corner kicks, the third most in the NSIC, but have allowed just 15 through their first nine games. UMD is tied for the most corner kicks – one more than the Mavericks – with 60 and a 6.67 corners a game average compared to MSU's 6.56. The Mavericks enter Friday having scored 20 goals – the second most in the league by a goal, but the Bulldogs have scored just 13, the eighth most in the NSIC. UMD's lone goals last weekend all came off set pieces – a penalty kick Friday night against Minot State University, and a corner kick and direct kick against the University of Mary.

vs. St. Cloud State: UMD is 17-16-8 against the Huskies all-time, and is looking to pick up its first win against SCSU since the 2017 season. That 1-0 win at home on Sept. 12, 2017 has been followed by the longest-losing streak to the Huskies in program history – nine-straight games, with four of those shutouts by SCSU. In last season's 2-1 setback on Sept. 20, 2024 at home, UMD struck first, just 6:09 into the game on a goal by Gwendolyn Lilly off a corner kick. The Huskies equalized less than four minutes before half, and then took the lead for good in the 68th minute. SCSU put 10 shots on goal to UMD's five, and overall outshot the Bulldogs 18-8. The Huskies also had six corner kicks compared to the lone one for UMD.

This season, SCSU is currently 6-0-3 overall and 4-0-2 in league play. The Huskies tied Minot State 2-2 and defeated Mary 1-0, both games on the road, in mid-September – opponents UMD just hosted last week. The Huskies are led by junior forward Linsey Trapino, who has four goals and an assist for nine points.

LAST TIME OUT: The Bulldogs suffered a 3-1 loss last Friday at home to Minot State before fighting back for a tie against Mary Sunday afternoon. All three of UMD's goals came off set pieces on the weekend. 

The Beavers erupted for three unanswered goals in less than three minutes midway through the first half for the 3-0 lead they would never relinquish. Sophomore forward Alyssa Doyle scored UMD's only goal in the 88th minute off a penalty – the first goal of her career. 

Chavez had four saves for the Bulldogs, who outshot the Beavers with nine shots on goal to MSU's seven. UMD also had a 9-3 corner kick attempt advantage. 

The Bulldogs never led in the contest against Mary Sunday, but scored both goals off set pieces – one in each half. After Dina Polanco put the Marauders up 1-0 in the 31st minute, UMD responded with a goal of their own less than seven minutes later. A Kailey Tomzak corner kick was knocked down by Eischens in the six yard box where Eliana Shromoff finished it off for her team-leading fourth goal of the season.

Mary would break that 1-1 tie at the 60:21 mark in the second half off a set piece just outside the 18 yard box, but once again, the Bulldogs responded with a set piece goal of their own. The goal came from a kick almost 48 yards from goal that was tapped on for Eischens, who finished it at 67:38 to knot the game at 2-2.


The highly physical contest had 18 fouls against UMD compared to only six called against Mary, and while the Marauders led the Bulldogs 6-3 in shots on goal, UMD had the 6-5 edge in corner kicks. 

BANNER BULLDOGS: Two players lead UMD currently with eight points each – senior midfielder Eliana Shromoff, who also owns the most goals this season (4), and junior midfield/forward Jessica Eischens, who has recorded two goals and four assists. Sophomore Kaitlyn Beavers sits third with seven points on three goals and an assist.


Shromoff is currently tied for the fourth most goals in the NSIC, while Eischens, along with senior midfielder Miriam Marsan, is also tied for first with four players for the most helpers in the conference.