UMD Soccer Hosts Augustana for First Home Playoff Game Since 2013

Bulldogs Host Augustana in First Home Postseason Match Since 2013

The University of Minnesota Duluth soccer team will host its first Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference postseason game Monday afternoon in James S. Malosky Stadium for the first time since 2013. The Bulldogs welcome Augustana University for a first-round playoff matchup scheduled to get underway at 4:00 p.m.

This appearance marks UMD’s return to the postseason for the first time since 2017, backed by the program’s highest seed—third—since the Bulldogs finished fifth in 2015. It also restores home-pitch playoff soccer to Duluth for the first time since 2013, a postseason run that didn’t end until the NCAA Elite Eight. UMD holds five conference tournament titles in program history, having claimed them in 1997, 1998, 2001, 2003, and 2009.

Series History and Recent Battles

Historically, UMD holds a 13-11-4 record against the Vikings across all meetings. Their first encounter dates back to October 3, 2004, resulting in a 1-0 Bulldog victory. Over the past five meetings, however, UMD sits at 1-2-2 against Augustana, a stretch that includes a 1-1 tie on Griggs Field back on September 18.

Monday’s contest gives the Bulldogs a chance to secure their first win over Augustana since October 16, 2022, when they notched a 1-0 victory. More specifically, they are hunting for their first triumph on home turf against the Vikings since October 6, 2013, when they pulled out a 3-2 overtime win. Since that afternoon in Duluth, the Bulldogs have averaged less than a goal a game against Augustana at 0.57, posting a 1-3-3 record at home.

During their mid-September meeting this season, UMD struck first in the 11th minute when Nora Helvig scored her second goal in as many games. Helvig finished off a dropped pass back from Lauren McGough, who had received the initial feed from Marissa VanDeHei to put the Bulldogs up 1-0. Augustana equalized in the 26th minute through a corner kick goal from Reese Geiger, marking the first corner kick goal UMD allowed all season. That 1-1 deadlock held through the final whistle, despite the Vikings outshooting UMD 9-4 in the second half.

Milestones and Defensive Anchors

Entering the postseason clash, UMD bench boss Greg Cane secured his 300th win at UMD Thursday following a 2-0 victory over Bemidji State University. That milestone builds on another from last season, when Cane picked up his 300th overall career coaching win on September 19, 2025, in a 5-1 rout of the University of Sioux Falls.

The Bulldogs bring the third-stingiest defense in the NSIC into Monday’s game, surrendering an average of 0.72 goals against per contest while putting up 1.66 goals a game on the offensive end. Sophomore goaltender Edy Halverson has recorded a shutout in half of her appearances this season. Across 16 games, Halverson has tallied eight shutouts—the third most in the conference—along with a 0.63 goals-against average and an .851 save percentage. On the attack, Lauren McGough leads UMD with 18 points, driven by a team-high eight goals, four of which stand as game-winners.