The University of Minnesota Duluth soccer team defeated Bemidji State University Thursday afternoon 2-0 inside James S. Malosky Stadium, a win that secured a third place regular season finish for the Bulldogs in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.
The finish is UMD's highest since the 2015 season (fifth) and will bring the first NSIC postseason playoff first-round game to Malosky for the first-time since 2013. While the Bulldogs don't know their opponent at the time of this recap, game-time has been set for 4:00 p.m. Monday on Griggs Field inside Malosky.
The win also doubled as head coach Greg Cane's 300th UMD win. Earlier in the season Cane picked up his 300th career win on Sept. 19th against the University of Sioux Falls in a 5-1 rout.
On Thursday, UMD struck early in the first half and never looked back. Lauren McGough scored her eighth goal of the season in the 11th minute to set UMD's tone early, collecting a rebound inside and spinning on the ball five yards out for the 1-0 lead. Of note, McGough's eight goals are the most by a UMD player since Jackie Jares put up eight scores in 2023.
UMD extended its lead in the 40th minute off a corner kick. Juliana Zerna's corner was headed on by McGough to Macie Brostea on the back post. Brostea volleyed the ball to the opposite post to give the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead – the first time UMD had scored two tallies on the Beavers since Oct. 28, 2017 (a 2-2 double overtime tie).
Bulldog netminder Edy Halverson earned her eighth shutout of the season and third in a row with three saves. UMD outshot BSU 10-3 in the contest and had seven corner kicks to the five of BSU, who finishes the regular season 8-4-6 and 7-3-5 in league play.
UMD (11-5-1, 10-4-1) is awaiting its opponent for next Monday's first round NSIC clash. Kick-off is slated for 4:00 p.m.
