Live Stats (UMC game)Live Stats (Bemidji State game)Live VideoMOORHEAD, Minn. – The Minnesota State University Moorhead women's soccer team will play five of its final six regular season games on the road, starting this weekend with a pair of games. The Dragons will play at Minnesota Crookston on Saturday in a battle for the Highway 75 Rivalry Rock and then conclude the weekend at Bemidji State on Sunday.
MSUM and Minnesota Crookston will play
for the Highway 75 Rivalry Rock this weekend.MSUM and UMC began playing for the Highway 75 Rivalry Rock in 2013. The winner of the yearly game between the two teams gets to keep the Highway 75 Rivalry Rock traveling trophy. Minnesota Crookston currently holds the trophy after edging the Dragons, 2-1 last year in Moorhead, Minn.
MSUM and Minnesota Crookston will meet for a 20th time with the Dragons leading the series, 14-5. The Golden Eagles won in 2013 but MSUM won in 2012, 2-0 in Crookston, Minn. The Dragons will meet Bemidji State for a 25th time with the Dragons holding a 12-11-1 series lead. Bemidji State won the meeting a year ago (2-1 in overtime) and has not lost to the Dragons since 2008, when MSUM prevailed 4-3 in Bemidji.
MSUM lost a pair of home games last weekend to two of the top teams in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. The Dragons fell in overtime to No. 22-ranked Winona State, 1-0 on Saturday and then fell to Upper Iowa, 3-1 on Sunday. Freshman
Danielle Tharaldson scored a goal off an assist by freshman
Madeline Drexl added the assist against Upper Iowa. For the weekend, junior goalkeeper
Ashley Leintz had 25 saves.
Six different Dragons have scored goals this season: freshman
Mackenzie Carlson, senior
Erin Nyberg, freshman
Annika Greaney, freshman
Jenai DeNardo, junior
Kelsey Schatz and Tharaldson. Carlson, sophomore
Ashley Germann, Drexl and sophomore
Gabrielle Bjorge each have assists.
Junior goalkeeper
Ashley Leintz has 103 saves through nine games and leads the NSIC at 9.36 per contest. She has a shutout and a .798 save percentage.
Rollie Bulock is in his 16th season as the Dragon head coach with a record of 93-162-15 at the school
About Minnesota Crookston Minnesota Crookston is 5-4-3 overall and 4-3-2in the NSIC. The Golden Eagles split on the road last weekend, beating Sioux Falls, 3-1 and losing to Southwest Minnesota State, 2-0. Courtney Armbrost is having a big year for the Golden Eagles with eight goals and 16 points. Beth Lastovich has seven points (one goal, five assists). Delaney McIntyre has two goals and two assists for six points. As a team, UMC has 20 goals in 12 games. In goal, Lexie Gauger has 48 saves and a 1.16 goals allowed average. She has three shutouts. Joe Alianiello is in his third season as UMC's head coach with a record of 10-30-8.
About Bemidji State Bemidji State, which has played nine of its first 11 games at home, is 5-6-1 overall and 4-4-1 in the NSIC. The Beavers, who will host Northern State prior to facing MSUM, went 1-0-1 on the road last weekend, tying SMSU, 1-1 and dominating Sioux Falls, 6-0. Bemidji State is unbeaten in its last three games. Sarah Stram leads Bemidji State with 17 points on six goals and five assists, while Raquel Thelen has three goals, a team-high six assists and 12 points. Six different players have scored at least three goals for Bemidji State this season. Bemidji State has scored 22 goals in 12 games. Sonja Barr has been Bemidji's primary goalkeeper and has a 4-5-1 record in 11 games. She has a 1.10 goals allowed average and 53 saves. Jim Stone is in his 13th season as Bemidji State's head coach with a record of 123-101-23 at the school.
Leintz Ranked Nationally Junior goalkeeper
Ashley Leintz is ranked sixth in all of Division II with 103 saves. She leads the NSIC in that category and also leads the league in saves per game at 9.36.
Perfect Time for First GoalJunior
Kelsey Schatz and freshmen
Mackenzie Carlson and
Jenai DeNardo have each scored the first goal of their college careers this season -- and all have come at critical times for the Dragons. Schatz scored the game-winning goal in a 2-1 win over Wayne State on Sunday. Carlson scored the first goal of her collegiate career earlier in the game to give the Dragons a 1-0 lead. DeNardo scored the game-winning goal in a 1-0 win over Washburn to open the 2014 season.
Captains Seniors Stephanie LIndo and
Erin Nyberg and junior
Ashley Leintz are the Dragons' 2014 captains.
