The Northern State football team defeated Minnesota-Duluth 24-21 for the first time since 2015, and the first time on the road since 1999 on a game-winning field goal from Jeremy Caruso as time expired.

It was a slow first half with only five total drives. The Wolves scored on their first drive of the game on the second play of the second quarter with a 1-yard Wyatt Block touchdown run.

Northern followed it up on their following drive, scoring again on a 33-yard pass from Daniel Britt to Ty Wiley with 1:02 remaining in the half. The Bulldogs marched down the field and on the last play of the half, scored on a 16-yard touchdown pass.

The Wolves scored on the first play of the fourth quarter on a 13-yard Hank Kraft run to extend the lead to 21-7. The Bulldogs scored 14 straight points to tie the game, giving the ball back to the Wolves with 2:33 remaining in the game.

The Wolves marched down the field successfully completing a 4th and 2 from the Bulldog 34-yard line on a stellar catch from Cade Kaiser. The Wolves lined up the game winning field goal at the 20-yard line, making it a 38-yard field goal, and Caruso knocked it through, giving the Wolves their third straight win.

“I’m thinking to myself, ‘I’ve never had a chance to kick a game winner,’” said Caruso. “So when they call the timeout, I’m like OK I’m good, and I look at the scoreboard and there’s one second left… so I see that and it just felt good from there.”

Before Caruso kicked the game-winning field goal, a couple drives earlier he saved a kick return for a touchdown with a big hit on the Duluth sideline.

“I took it back to my high school days where I throw my body in front of them, and if they want to run me over, that’s cool. I’m all good with that,” Caruso said. “This dude had no intention of not running me over and that one hurt a little bit.”

Caruso was awarded the NSIC Special Teams Player of the Week going 3 for 3 on PATs and hitting the game-winning field goal. Offensively, Britt went 15-20 for 143 yards, with Block leading the way on the ground rushing 17 times for 77 yards. Tanner Branson led the Wolves in receiving yards with 70 on five catches.

On the defensive side of the ball, Jake Adams led with nine tackles, followed by Charlie Larson with eight. Max Van Landingham collected two sacks to run his total to four in the last two games. Matt Baker also had a sack, his fifth on the year. Kegan Mountain reeled in his third interception of the year.

Wolves volleyball traveled to the Twin Cities to take on 13th-ranked Concordia-St. Paul last Friday. The Wolves fell in three sets by scores of 25-20, 25-19 and 25-14. The Wolves managed 26 kills hitting .056 at the net. Hanna Thompson led with eight kills. Victoria Persha and Mia Hinsz each had an ace, with Persha also adding six assisted blocks.

The next day the Wolves suffered a tight four-set loss to Winona State, the third and fourth sets going to extra points. NSU dropped the first set 25-23, won the second 25-13, and dropped the third and fourth 26-24, 27-26. Thompson had a team-leading 19 kills, followed by Morissen Samuels with 13. Persha and Hinsz had two aces each.

NSU Soccer was the only team competing at home last weekend. The Wolves dropped their Friday match to Bemidji State 1-0, and defeated Minnesota Crookston 3-0 on Sunday.

Friday’s contest was scoreless at the half, despite Bemidji putting up 11 shots. The Beavers found the net just after the second half started in the 55th minute. Megan Fastenau recorded 2 shots on goal, and Alexus Townsend collected 9 saves on 10 shots on goal.

The Wolves bounced back against the Golden Eagles, scoring quickly in the 6th minute on a Sophie Taylor header assisted by Eva Larson. The Wolves found the back of the net for the second time in the contest when Abby Missman scored the first collegiate goal of her career. The Wolves closed out the game with a Lauren Youngquist goal assisted by Lauren Carpenter in the 87th minute. Alexus Townsend recorded one save on one shot on goal.

The cross country teams competed in the Marauder Invite hosted by Mary. The Men’s team took home first place with Nathan Alto taking third overall, and Jacob Angerhofer taking fourth place. Abby Hasart finished in 10th place, with Emaleigh Olesiak taking 20th.

Coming up the volleyball team will host MSU Moorhead at 6 tonight at Wachs Arena. Friday the swim and dive team will be back in the pool in Moorhead to take on MSU Moorhead and Sioux Falls. Wolves soccer will be on the road as it takes on Minnesota-Duluth. On Saturday, the volleyball team will be at Minot State. That evening, Northern State football will host Southwest Minnesota State for the Blackout Cancer game with kickoff being at 6 p.m. Wolves soccer will close out the weekend with a road game against St. Cloud on Sunday. Wolves volleyball will host Mary at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Wachs Arena.