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Teams: Minot State at Minnesota-Duluth | Series: Series tied at 1-1
Date: Friday, Oct. 17, 2014 | Time: 6 p.m. | Site: James S. Malosky Staduim
Teams: Minot State at St. Cloud State | Series: Minot State leads series 2-1
Date: Sunday, Oct. 19, 2014 | Time: 1 p.m. | Site: Husky Stadium

MATCH-UPS: Minot State begins their weekend road trip with a crucial game against Minnesota-Duluth Friday evening. The Bulldogs sit just two points ahead of the Beavers in the NSIC table, so both teams will be fighting for a better seed in the conference tournament. In the second game of the weekend, Minot State travels to St. Cloud State to face a team desperately looking for points in the league. The Huskies are currently four points out of the final spot for the Northern Sun postseason tournament.

RECORDS: Minot State enters the week of Oct. 13 with an overall record of 5-5-2 and a 4-4-1 record in the Northern Sun. The Beavers are coming off a win against Concordia-St. Paul. The Bulldogs of Minnesota-Duluth sport an overall record under .500 (5-7), yet the Bulldogs are 5-4 in NSIC play. St. Cloud State sits at 4-8 overall and 3-6 in the NSIC.

COACHES CORNER: Jason Spain is in his fifth season as head coach of the women's soccer program at Minot State. Spain has done impressive work in his four seasons with the team, sporting a highly successful 42-27-9 record. Last season, Spain led the Beavers to their second consecutive birth in the NSIC postseason tournament. In 2012, the Beavers won the NSIC tournament and claimed the automatic bid into the NCAA Division II tournament. Greg Cane has been with the women's soccer program at Minnesota-Duluth ever since they became a varsity program back in 1994. He boasts a cumulative record of 220-117-33 in his twenty years with the program and had an especially good year in 2013. The Bulldogs finished the season ranked as the No. 7 team in the country. Gretta Arvesen is in her first year with the St. Cloud State Huskies after a one-year assistant coaching stint with Central Michigan. Prior to joining Central Michigan, Arvesen served as an assistant coach in the NSIC with Minnesota State from 2008 to 2013. She played NCAA Division I soccer at Creighton University and made two NCAA postseason tournament appearances.

RANKINGS: In the National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll released on Oct. 14, neither team slated to face the Beavers this week found themselves ranked in the top 25. All teams, including Minot State, did not receive votes for the top 25.

NOTING THE BEAVERS: Minot State had their hands full when they entered the week of Oct. 6 as the No. 2 ranked Minnesota State Mavericks came to town on Saturday, Oct. 11. After taking the game to halftime all square courtesy of a goal scored by Kristin Long (Jr., M, Mesa, Ariz.), the Mavericks proved to be one of the best teams in the country putting away two more goals in the second half to take the game 3-1. The Beavers rebounded well, though, in their Sunday match against Concordia-St. Paul. Long struck again for the Beavers in the first half, this time giving the Beavers a lead, and they never looked back. Minot State went on to score two more goals in the second half of play, ultimately taking the game by a score of 3-0.

NOTING THE BULLDOGS: Minnesota-Duluth has had their ups-and-downs so far this season and last weekend was much of the same for the Bulldogs. In their first match of the weekend, the Bulldogs travelled to Wayne State and brought some goals with them. Duluth scored three goals within the first nine minutes of the game, propelling them to a convincing 4-2 victory. On the second day of the road trip, the Bulldogs were unable to keep the attacking spark they carried against the Wildcats. Augustana played a strong game against the Bulldogs, outshooting them 10-4 and taking the game by a score of 3-1.

NOTING THE HUSKIES: St. Cloud State got a much needed three points in their final game of this past weekend against Wayne State College. The Huskies scored early in the first half (19') and did well defensively to secure a clean sheet and a 1-0 victory. The previous day, the Huskies came up just short in a 2-1 loss at Augustana. St. Cloud State struck first in the 63rd minute but the Vikings nicked two late goals in the 79th and 83rd to take the game and the critical three points.

SERIES HISTORY: In just two meetings between Minot State and Minnesota-Duluth the teams have split, each taking one win. The Bulldogs took last year's contest by a close score of 2-1. Minot State leads the short series against St. Cloud State 2-1, which includes a win last year against the Huskies, 3-1.

LONG-ING TO WIN: Minot State's Kristin Long (Jr., M, Mesa, Ariz.) scored two goals this past weekend including a game-winning goal against Concordia-St. Paul. With her two goals, Long is tied for the team-lead in goals and leads the team in total points. After not starting four of the first five games for the Beavers, Long has solidified a starting spot, starting for Minot State in the past seven games.

SWITCHING STUFF UP: After All-NSIC defender Kelli Creese (So., La Verne, Calif.) went down with a shoulder injury earlier this season, Emilie Rebelo (Jr., M/D, Sacramento, Calif.) moved from her center-mid position to a center-back position and the change is beginning to pay off for the Beavers. Rebelo guided the Beavers' back-four to their fourth clean sheet of the season against Concordia-St. Paul while also scoring a goal off a free kick and ringing another set piece off the cross bar.

BY THE NUMBERS

4: Just four points separate the Nos. 7-10 teams in the NSIC table. This weekend will play a big factor into who still has a chance to make the conference tournament.

5: Minot State continues to boast one of the best goals conceded averages in the NSIC. The Beavers allow just .92 goals per game, good for 5th in the conference.

8: The Beavers currently sit tied for 8th in the NSIC with Bemidji State. The top eight teams in the conference move on to the NSIC postseason tournament.