Mankato, Minn. --- The first-seeded Minnesota State women's soccer team (15-1-2, 14-0-1 NSIC) hosts eighth-seeded Minnesota Duluth Wednesday afternoon at 1 p.m. at the Pitch at Gage Towers in the first round of the NSIC/U.S. Bank Conference Tournament.  With a victory, the Mavericks would host Friday's semifinal matches and Sunday's championship game.

Recapping Last Weekend's Action:  Minnesota State claimed the program's first-ever Northern Sun conference championship last Friday by way of a 2-0 win over visiting Winona State.

Junior Tori Meinhardt factored in both Maverick goals tallying a goal and an assist, while sophomore Molly McGough earned her school-record breaking 12th shutout of the season.

MSU would finish league play undefeated but not unblemished as it battled with Upper Iowa Sunday afternoon to a 1-1 tie in Fayette.

Sophomore Emily Moris scored the lone goal for MSU with assists from juniors Caitlin Graboski and Courtney Vallarelli.

Scouting the Bulldogs:  Minnesota Duluth (8-6-3, 7-5-3 NSIC) slid into the eighth and final playoff position by way of a 4-0 victory over Minnesota Crookston and 1-1 tie with Bemidji State a week ago.

    Sophomore Maureen Stormont has exploded as of late for the Bulldogs with back-to-back eight point weekends bringing her season total to 11-2--24, while junior Dani Potter ranks second on the UMD scoring chart with 5-8--18 this season.  Freshman goalkeeper Marissa Rosa has started 12 games in goal for the Bulldogs posting a 1.39 GAA and .730 save percentage for the conference's tenth-best defense.

Inside the MSU/UMD Series: Minnesota State dropped Minnesota Duluth 5-1 on Oct. 12 in Duluth and stands 14-8-2 all-time against UMD.  MSU has won three of the last four including a 4-0 victory in last year's NSIC semifinals.

The Rest of the Field:  The three other NSIC quarterfinal matches will see fifth-seeded U-Mary travel north to fourth-seed Minot State, seventh-seed St. Cloud State head to second-seeded Winona State, and sixth-seed Bemidji State trek south to third-seeded Upper Iowa.  The highest remaining seed after the first round will host the semifinals and championship matches.

Home Sweet Home:  The Mavericks are 8-0-1 at the Pitch at Gage Towers this season and currently in the midst of a school-record 22 game home unbeaten streak dating back to 2010.

Keep on Streaking:  Along with its home unbeaten streak, Minnesota State is unbeaten in its last 16 games which is a new school record.  MSU also tied a school-record last Friday with its 13th consecutive victory.

Climbing the Ranks:  After debuting at No. 24 in the NSCAA Poll, MSU is ranked third this week after spending the past two weeks in the nation's top spot.  The Mavericks also hold the top spot in the NCAA Central Region rankings.

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