Duluth, Minn. - The University of Jamestown women's soccer team will have their second-to-last game of the 2026 season Sunday afternoon on the road against Minnesota Duluth.
With two games remaining, the Jimmies record is at 4-8-4 and 4-6-3 in the NSIC. With their loss to Bemidji State University last Friday combined with other results around the league, the Jimmies are eliminated from the playoffs as they are tied with three other teams with 15 points, but with no path to reach the eighth-place cut line.
Most recently, Jamestown played Duluth's travel partner, Bemidji State, and suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of the Beavers. It was a fairly evenly played game, especially early in the contest, but a defensive zone turnover in the 59th minute gave BSU a wide-open chance that they did not miss on.
Bre Oettle and Emma Belyk had the only two shots on goal in the shutout defeat while goalkeeper Taylor Musser made three saves. Total shots finished at 12-7 while the Beavers posted four shots on net and the Jimmies two.
Julliet Lopez is the leading scorer for the Jimmies with five goals and two assists, slotting her in as the 11th leading scorer in the NSIC and inside the top 10 with her five tallies. Oettle is the team leader in assists with three as well as Jamestown's second leading scorer with seven points. Kyah Gabel ranks third on the team with four points off two goals.
In the net, Musser has put together a solid freshman season with a .774 save percentage and a 1.75 goals-against average en route to three wins and one shutout.
Duluth comes into the Sunday afternoon contest with a record of 9-5-2 overall and 8-4-1 in the Northern Sun. 25 points put the Bulldogs firmly into playoff picture as they are in a tie for fifth currently.
Last time out Friday, UMD picked up three big points after they blanked Northern State University 1-0. After a scoreless first half, Nora Helvig broke the lid on the goal in the 60th minute, which was all it took to defeat the Wolves.
Kamryn Beavers and Caitlin Sheleski earned the two assists on Helvig's sixth goal of the season while goalkeeper Edy Halverson posted two saves in the shutout.
It has been a breakout season for the Bulldogs soccer team after they haven't been the greatest in recent years. In 2025, Duluth finished with an overall record of 6-8-4 and 5-7-3 in the conference, missing out on the playoffs by two points and finishing 10th in the overall NSIC standings. UMD was selected to finish 10th again in this season's Women's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll.
As a unit, 1.5 goals per game and 1.6 assists per game put the Bulldogs in fifth and fourth in the conference, respectively. 0.81 goals-against per game ranks fifth in the league while most impressively, Duluth ranks first in the conference in both shots per game (18.13) and shots on goal per game (9.38).
Helvig and Lauren Mcgough provide a big one-two punch with each of those two Bulldogs scoring six goal in the season which places the duo in a tie for seventh across all players in the conference. Helvig's three assists puts the sophomore in eight place in total points with 15 and Marissa VanDeHei is inside the top 10 in the NISC with four assists.
Netminder Halverson has been a tough goalie to crack as she has some of the strongest numbers among NSIC goaltenders. The Week 6 NSIC Goaltender of the Week ranks third in the conference in goals-against average (0.72), fourth in save percentage (.839), and fourth in clean sheets (6).
Jamestown and UMD met at Charlotte and Gordon Hansen Stadium during the 2025 season which resulted in a 2-0 shutout for the Bulldogs. Duluth scored late in the first half in the 43rd minute, then again in the 79th minute to take down the Jimmies on Halloween. Gabel had one of the four shots on goal for UJ while Duluth tallied 10 total shots on the Jamestown goal in the contest.
Following the matchup in Northeast Minnesota, Jamestown will have their final game of the season away from home against their travel partner, Northern State University, on Thursday, October 29 at 5:30 p.m.
