NSIC in MN: UMD Bulldogs undefeated streak into playoffs, Mankato putting up numbers as #1 seed

Author: Mark Privratsky

(Photo Credit: UMD Bulldogs)

With 1 game left in the Northern Sun Conference season, the UMD Bulldogs have won 4 in a row and control their own destiny for their first NSIC Tourney spot since 2017. Mankato has all but claimed the #1 seed and hosting rights throughout, BSU and Concordia St Paul are playing for seeding, while Winona sits 1 point away from the NSIC Tourney. The bottom seeds could all change based on this weekend's games, when every team will face their travel partner. St Cloud St is out of the playoff picture but could ruin UMD or Winona's hopes depending on how results shake out on the final match day tomorrow, October 27. Everything is leading up to the NSIC Tournament, which kicks off with Halloween Quarterfinals, with the Semis on November 4th and the Championship on the 6th (hosted by the top remaining seed).

---

---

​UMD stretch win streak to 4, control their own destiny

The First Years on this UMD team were in Middle School the last time the Bulldogs made the top 8 in the NSIC. Thanks to four 1 goal wins in a row over Wayne St, Augustana, Moorhead and Northern St, they control their own destiny going into the final game against St Cloud. Along with an early season win over Minot, the wins at Augustana and at home against Northern are the biggest of the year for UMD. With the 1-0 win over Northern (compliments of a BANGER from Anna Tobias seen above^), the Bulldogs leapfrogged the Wolves and set the stage for a tense final game with St Cloud. They need to get at least a draw to feel safe and a win would lock in a postseason spot. Hats off to Duluth for making a big step forward, doubling their Conference points after being 10+ out from NSIC Tourney play last year. 

Looking to the NCAAs

In the recent Coaches Poll, Mankato climbed to 13th and were joined by frequently ranked #21 Bemidji St. Last week the NCAA also released the Regional Rankings for D2 Soccer. Most of the time these rankings are just a nice addition to a headline, but when they are huge when it comes to At Large NCAA Tournament births. If a team doesn't win their Conference Tournament, there are only so many At Large births available. As is typical, only a few NSIC teams are in the top 10, Augustana, Mankato and Bemidji. That means for the NSIC in MN, only Mankato(currently 7th) or Bemidji(currently 2nd) could hope to get an At Large bit should they fail to win the Northern Sun. Neither team will want to leave that to chance, as Bemidji hopes to return for a second run in the NCAAs, and Mankato looking to prove last year's 2nd round loss was just a fluke. 

#13 Mankato performing a step above

In the NSIC Standings, Mankato is just 3 points up on Bemidji, with Minot and Augustana a couple points further behind. At the end of the day, a win is a win, so the Maverick's rivals should feel confident of their ability to challenge Mankato. However, it you take a deeper look at their margin of production vs their NSIC rivals, and the gap is significant. As the team that runs up the score on the bottom of the table more than anyone, they have an average margin of victory of 2.3 goals, almost a goal and a half better than the next best team, and 3 times higher than rival Bemidji. However, when it comes to the big games, the Mavericks won't expect to put up a 7-0 football score to guarantee victory. They knocked off last year's National Champion Grand Valley State in a gritty 1-0 win earlier this fall, where they showed the grit and defensive ability to handle big opponents. 

---

​Game Recaps

Friday, October 14
Minot St 0-0 Mankato St
Bemidji St 3-0 SW Minnesota St
UMD 1-0 Wayne State
St Cloud St 0-2 Augustana
Moorhead St 0-3 Winona St
UM Crookston 1-1 Sioux Falls
U Mary 2-0 Concordia St Paul

Sunday, October 16
Minot St 0-0 Concordia St Paul
Northern St 1-1 Winona St
St Cloud St 1-1 Wayne St
Bemidji St 4-1 Wayne St
U Mary 0-1 Mankato St
UMD 1-0 Augustana
UM Crookston 0-6 SW Minnesota St
Moorhead St 1-1 Upper Iowa

Friday, October 21
Sioux Falls 0-3 Mankato St
UMD 2-1 Moorhead St
Bemidji St 2-0 U Mary
St Cloud 0-1 Northern St
Wayne St 0-2 Winona St
SW Minnesota St 1-2 Concordia St Paul
UM Crookston 0-5 Minot St

Sunday, October 23
Minot St 0-0 Bemidji St
U Mary 1-0 UM Crookston
Mankato St 5-0 SW Minnesota St
Winona St 0-2 Augustana
Northern St 0-1 UMD
Concordia St Paul 2-2 Sioux Falls
Moorhead St 0-3 St Cloud St

---

​Games to Watch

There are 2 Minnesota teams with big implications tomorrow. Plenty of seeds could change but for Minnesota schools, the drama lies with UMD and Winona State. If UMD wins, they are in. A tie could do a well, but they'd have to hope for results elsewhere. Winona is just 1 point off of 8th and 2 points off of 6th (with tiebreakers tbd). They need to win and they need UMD or others to falter. Moorhead could REALLY help their rivals by defeated current 8 seed Northern State in Aberdeen as well. Tune in Friday afternoon to see how the NSIC Tournament shakes out ahead of its kickoff on Halloween Day. 

Thursday, October 27
Upper Iowa at Winona St
Kickoff - 5:00pm
STREAM: ​nsicnetwork.com/

St Cloud St at UMD
Kickoff - 6:00pm
STREAM: nsicnetwork.com/

Moorhead St at Northern State
Kickoff: 5:30pm
STREAM: nsicnetwork.com/