As we cross the halfway point in the semester and approach our long-awaited fall break, here is a little reflection on some of the varsity sports teams here at UMD and their seasons so far. 

Starting with the hockey side of things, both the Mens and Womens teams find themselves in an interesting position. 

The Men’s team  started off the season strong with a 2-0 series sweep versus Arizona State University over homecoming weekend. They find themselves in an interesting position now though, falling to #10 in the nation in the most recent USCHO rankings after their hard fought 0-2 series loss versus Minnesota State University Mankato. They hope to redeem themselves this weekend against a struggling Wisconsin Madison team, who have yet to find a win on their season so far.

The Women's team continue their win streak on the season, starting off undefeated 6-0 for the first time since the 2006-07 season. The UMD women rank number 2 in scoring defenses among teams who have played more than 4 games, pushing them into the #4 position in the nation in the most recent USCHO rankings. They hope to continue their momentum going into a tough series versus the #1 ranked Ohio State this weekend.

The Bulldog football team improves to an overall 5-2 on their season after an impressive win over Concordia St.Paul, dominantly beating the Golden Bears 53-7 last weekend. This most recent win has them in the running for first place in the NSIC, tied only with their northern neighbors in the conference Bemidji State University. The two teams will go head to head this weekend to break the tie and establish a clear leader for the weeks to come.

The Bulldogs Women's Soccer team heads into their final weekend of NSIC conference play with an overall record of 6-6-3. Last week’s Goalkeeper of the Week, Jenny Norris and the team look to face off against Minnesota State Moorhead and Northern State to keep their winning streak alive going into the conference tournament. The Bulldogs soccer team currently sit at #9 in the NSIC standings.

The 19-2 Volleyball team is set to play against Minnesota Crookston on Thursday’s UMD student night. They head into the final seven match stretch of their season ranking #4 overall in the AVCA Coaches Poll. Bulldog’s Volleyball have already improved upon their previous season ending last year at 18-11. They hope to continue this strength throughout the rest of their regular season.