Mankato, Minn. --- Minnesota State (2-3-0, 0-3-0) dropped the first game of the weekend series to #7/8 Minnesota Duluth (3-2-0, 1-2-0 WCHA) by a final of 3-1 Friday afternoon at the Mayo Clinic HSEC.

Minnesota Duluth's Mary Kate O'Brian opened the scoring at the 7:03 mark of the first period. The Mavericks were held to five shots in the first period as UMD garnered the majority of the scoring opportunity resulting in 12 shots in the opening frame.

Minnesota State responded in the early part of the second period with its third powerplay goal of the season. Senior Jamie Nelson notched her team-leading fifth goal on the season while senior Sydney Langseth and sophomore Taylor Otremba each marked assists on the play.

Despite leading the third period in shot 12-5, the Mavericks were outscored 2-0 in the final frame of the first game of the series.

"After a tough first period, we were able to reset with a mindset of being quicker and stronger to the puck," stated head coach John Harrington. "We certainly got stronger as the game went on showing a fantastic defensive effort. We will look to carry our success into tomorrow to grab a win at home."

The Mavericks are back in action tomorrow as they take on UMD at 2 p.m. to finish off the weekend.