Bulldogs Fall to Mavericks

NSO – NEWS RELEASE

Turning over the football had not been much of an issue for the University of Minnesota Duluth this season. That is until Saturday — and Minnesota State University-Mankato made the Bulldogs pay for it.

UMD, which had coughed up just 10 turnovers in its previous 13 games, lost three fumbles and threw one pick which the No. 1 Mavericks parlayed into 21 points on its way to a 44 -17 victory over the No. 2 Bulldogs in the NCAA Division II quarterfinals Saturday afternoon at MSU’s Blakesee Stadium. UMD finished the year 13-1 — the third most victories in program history

“We knew going into today’s game that it was going to be dictated on field position and turnovers,” said UMD head coach Curt Wiese. “Unfortunately, we gave up too many yards on special teams and lost the ball four times. You can’t do that with a team like Mankato.”

UMD got the day off to an omnious start, fumbling on its first play from scrimmage and it took the Mavericks just four plays to it hit pay dirt. They added a field goal on their next possession and held a 10-0 lead midway through the second quarter before junior placekicker Andrew Brees broke the ice for UMD with a 27-yard field goal. With 11 seconds to go before halftime, freshman Aaron Warren blocked a Maverick punt that was recovered on the Minnesota State three-yard line and, one play later, Drew Bauer knotted the game with his 13th rushing touchdown of the year. Minnesota State opened the second half by scoring 17 straight points in a span of just over six minutes to go up 27-10, but a 20-yard scoring strike from Bauer to senior tight end Taylor Grant with 2:17 to go in the third got the Bulldogs back to within striking distance. Minnesota State, however, iced the win and punched its ticket to the NCAA II semifinals by racking up another 17 unanswered points in the final quarter of play.

“We thought we had a chance to come back again but we kept putting ourselves in bad situations, ” said Bauer, who was 18-for-35 for 149 yards passing. “Losing the turnover margin (the Mavericks committed none) and putting your defense on a short field time and time again doesn’t equal success. Neither does going 0-for14 in third down conversions.”

Bauer ran for a team-high 106 yards on 18 attempts and set a team single-season rushing record for quarterbacks with 983 yards. Junior running back Logan Lauters, the only other Bulldog with a carry (he also had 18 if them), finished with 83 yards. Wide out Zach Zweifel, one of UMD’s 14 seniors, paced both Northern Sun Conference rivals with five receptions in his collegiate farewell.

Maverick quarterbacks Ricky Lloyd and Nick Pieruccin combined to throw for 307 yards and three touchdowns in the win, just Minnesota State’s fourth in its last 12 meetings with UMD.

“They took advantage of the miscommunication we had in the secondary,” said junior free safety David Boegel, who was credited with a career-high 13 total tackles. “We gave up too many big plays and it put us in a hole that we couldn’t recover from.”

The 17 points were also the fewest amassed by a Bulldog club since Minnesota State exited James S. Malosky Stadium with a 21-17 victory on Sept. 21, 2013 — UMD’s last regular season setback.

“This loss certainly stings,” said Wiese, who will lose 14 seniors to graduation.  “You only get so many opportunities in your career, as a coach and as a player, to be in a NCAA quarterfinal game. Minnesota State played a clean game and we made too many mistakes to be in a position to win in the end.”