Top-ranked Minnesota-Duluth slammed a hard-nosed Wisconsin-Stout 67-0 to return to the national Men’s DII semifinals.

 

The Fighting Penguins were just flat the better team, and played a precise, expansive game despite rain and wind in St. Louis. More troubling for UMD was a serious injury to fullback Austin Haecherl - the fullback lost consciousness after a hit and was out for a few minutes. He was taken to the hospital and early reports are promising.

 

On the field, the Penguins were superb. Derek Van Klein scored four tries for Duluth while Logan Hanson scored two.

 

“The guys had to deal with sloppy conditions but they put in a total team effort,” said Head Coach Jeramy Katchuba. “Our forwards were very determined.”

 

“Our forwards controlled the set pieces as well as the breakdowns,” added Duluth’s Lars Anderson. “The backs ran their lines effectively. We played heavy defense and forced turnovers, and when our subs came in they made an impact. Our success was possible because our team played together as a unit.”

Duluth will face James Madison in two weeks in the national semis. JMU defeated Towson Sunday in their quarterfinal.