Having defeated Winona State, the top-ranked and defining national DII college champions Minnesota Duluth Fighting Penguins look to stay undefeated against North Dakota. Having already defeated their top two rivals for the Northern Lights Conference title, UMD are heavily favored to go unbeaten.

“I was a bit nervous with the amount of talent that we lost to graduation last year, but we have had a number of players fill the gap and we are starting to play more consistently as a team,” said UMD Head Coach Jeramy Ktchuba. 

A good group of experienced players, such as Logan Hanson, Trace Bolstad, Lars Anderson, Austin Haecherl, Andrew Buntrock, and Luc Desroches, have taken the team under their wings.

And then there are the additions. Connor Gleason transferred from AIC and has shored up the second row and been a big factor in the lineouts and around the field. Matt Martin took last fall off from rugby but is now leading the team in tries from fullback.

“He is extremely quick and can finish from anywhere if he gets a gap,” said Katchuba.  “He is also very solid in defense and gives us the opportunity to put heavy pressure on the offense, knowing that if anyone breaks thru he will make the tackle.”  

And watch out for the future. UMD has 12 new recruits filling in at the 2nd-team level, and finding ways to get into the 1st side.

“I am constantly amazed at the work ethic of the team,” added Katchuba. “They come in to preseason practices ready to work extremely hard for the opportunity to compete for a national championship.  We have very strong captains that constantly hold the team to high expectations, both on and off the pitch.”

Another national title run? Duluth has been able to get there before despite having a relatively easy time of it in their conference. They do that by being enormously disciplined. That still holds, and so, yes, another national title run.

See Duluth v Winona State game footage here.