Crookston, Minn.- The UMC soccer team will enter their final weekend of play with a little momentum and a chance to play spoiler as both of their weekend opponents are battling for spots in the 2016 NSIC championship tournament. Coming off a four-point weekend with a home tie versus the University of Sioux Falls and a 1-0 win over Southwest Minnesota State University, the Golden Eagles will travel to the University of Minnesota Duluth on Friday, before wrapping up the 2016 campaign, at home, with a match versus St. Cloud State University.
 
The Golden Eagles have played well defensively throughout the regular season and a big part of that success has been the play of senior defender Samantha Deutsch (Lakeville, Minn./Accounting and Finance) who earned an NSIC Defender of the Week nod last week. UMC split duties in net last weekend with both Lexie Gauger (Sr., Green Bay, Wisc./Criminal Justice) and Jacqueline Burke (Anchorage, Alaska) earning shutouts.
 
Senior forward, Kallie Gau (Monticello, Minn./Early Childhood and Elementary Education) continues to lead the UMC squad in scoring as she has netted three goals, her last was the game winner against SMSU. Freshmen Abe Aswege (West Bend, Wis.) and Hannah Riveland (R-Fr., Moorhead, Minn.) have also picked up their offensive effort, in the second half of the season, and continue to bring quality scoring opportunities to each contest.
 
Friday October, 28 at UMD
 
The Golden Eagles will travel to UMD for a chilly night game this Friday that is scheduled to start at 6:00 p.m. The Bulldogs are coming off a 1-1 tie with Augustana University and currently have an overall record of 7-5-4, 5-4-4 in the NSIC. UMD has been led by junior defender, Skye Finley (Forest Lake, Minn.) who has scored four goals and assisted on three others. Three other Bulldogs have scored a pair of goals for a team that has been outscored 15-20 on the season.
 
Duluth has used three goalkeepers this season with sophomore, Sisley Ng (White Bear Lake, Minn.) logging the bulk of the minutes in net. Ng has a goals against average of 1.49 and a record of 3-5-2.
  
Sunday, October 30 versus SCSU
 
UMC will close out the 2016 season at home when they host St. Cloud State University with a 2:00 p.m. opening kick. The Huskies last played Wayne State College where they were knocked off 3-1 and will enter the NSIC finale with a current record of 6-6-4, 5-4-4 in conference play. SCSU has a little more scoring ability as they have scored 20 goals this season, but have allowed 26.
 
The Huskies top scorer of 2016 is Maria Kass (So., Pewaukee, Wisc.) who has netted eight goals, to go along with three assists. Freshmen, Brooke Bares (Fredonia, Wisc.) and Hannah Marion (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) have also done well as they have each scored three goals on the season.
 
Julia Clifford (R-Sr., Ham Lake, Minn.) has been the only keeper for the Huskies where she has a goals against of 1.53 and a save percentage of .764.
 
Although the Golden Eagles have already been eliminated from the playoff picture, they will look to go out with a pair of wins and improve on their overall record of 3-11-2, 2-9-2 in the NSIC.
 
For more information, visit the Golden Eagle Athletics website at www.goldeneaglesports.com.
 
Follow the Golden Eagles on Facebook at Golden Eagle Sports and on Twitter at @UMCAthletics.
 
The University of Minnesota Crookston is an NCAA Division II Institution and a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). The Golden Eagle Equestrian team is a member of the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA).