FARGO, N.D. – The North Dakota State soccer team are coming off of a two week break from competitive play, returning to action with the beginning of Summit League play on Friday, October 1, as the Bison welcome in Oral Roberts University. Kickoff between the Bison and Golden Eagles to begin league play will be at 6 p.m. at Dacotah Field.
Bison Looking to Snap Winless Skid
NDSU enters Friday’s conference opener looking to snap a seven-game winless streak. Winless in the fall of 2021, the Bison will look to make Oral Roberts, who the Bison defeated 3-1 in the regular season finale last April for their last win, the book ends of the winless skid. Entering Friday, four current Bison have totaled five career goals against the Golden Eagles.
Heartbreak at Marquette
The Bison had several chances to pick up a win at Marquette in the last game, but the Bison fell short after a pair of diving saves denied winners for the Bison late in regulation and in the first overtime. Marquette would win it in the second overtime after a redirected cross squeaked past the Bison defense and over the line, handing the Bison the loss.
Bison Have Recent History of Overcoming Slow Start
NDSU started the season 0-4. The Bison has started a season 0-4 one other time in the NCAA DI era, going 0-8 with just one goal in 2017. However, despite the slow start, the Bison finished 2017 with a second-place finish in the Summit League during the regular season. They also finished as the runner-up in the conference tournament.
Howe Set New Career High Against Marquette
At Marquette, goalkeeper Sofia Howe set a new career high in saves to help push the game to a second overtime. The Chula Vista, California native made 12 saves. Her previous career high was nine in a 1-1 tie against Wyoming earlier this season. Prior to this fall, Howe had a career best six saves in the 3-1 win over Oral Roberts in the season finale in April. Howe has 42 career saves with the Bison and moved to the top of the active list in Wisconsin, surpassing Aly Cole (37).
Bison Soccer Earns United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Award
NDSU women’s soccer team earned the United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Award on September 23. For the sixth-straight year, including every year under head coach Mike Regan, the Bison have earned the Team Academic Award, doing so in the 2020-21 academic year with a cumulative team grade-point average (GPA) of 3.645.
The Bison have performed exceptionally in the classroom over the last two decades, with this year’s honor being the 19th in the past 20 seasons. The 2020-21 school year was the 21st time the Bison have won the award since it was introduced in 1996, tied for 13th most among the 1121 collegiate women’s soccer programs to win the award at least once in the award’s history. The next closest Summit League school was Omaha with 16.
Schneider Playing Every Minute for Bison
Earlier this season against Pacific, Ellie Schneider surpassed 3,000 career minutes as a Bison, one of just three active players on the list to do so (Danielle Algera and Brookelyn Dew). The senior is the only player for the Bison to play all 665 minutes this season.
Algera Climbing Charts
Senior Danielle Algera is the active leader for the Bison in games played (75) and games started (68). The Winnipeg native is on pace to crack the top 10 (78) for the Bison in games played in mid-October. She is also four starts from the top 10 (72). Algera could climb to second in both categories this season. She is also the active leader in minutes played with 5,922.
About Oral Roberts
Oral Roberts enters Friday’s contest at 3-5-1 on the season but have struggled over the last month, entering the match up with the Bison with just one win in their last six games. After a 2-0-1 start to the season, the Golden Eagles started their slide with a 3-0 loss at home to Creighton before losses at Missouri State and Central Arkansas. Following a win over Jackson State, the Golden Eagles have lost back-to-back 2-1 decisions at home to Tulsa and Weber State.
Pamela Caballeros leads Oral Roberts with five goals, but is scoreless in her last three outings. She scored in two of ORU’s three wins, with braces in the wins over Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Northwestern Oklahoma. Samantha Guzman has been the hot shooting foot for ORU, scoring three of the last four goals. Goalkeeper Louisa Ramsauer is the only Golden Eagle to start all nine games. She has a 1.87 goals against average and 48 saves, playing all but 11 minutes this season.
The Series with Oral Roberts
Friday’s game between the Bison and Golden Eagles will be the 15th all-time meeting, with the series dating back to October 26, 2007 as the two programs played out to a scoreless tie in Tulsa. The Bison hold a commanding lead in the series, holding a 9-2-3 record. The Bison are undefeated in five-straight games against ORU with a 3-0-2 record, but four of the five matches have seen extra time.
The Bison are 6-2-1 against the Golden Eagles in Fargo and 4-1-1 since moving to Dacotah Field in 2013. Last season in the Dacotah Field Bubble, the Bison won 3-1 on the final day of the regular season after a 2-2 draw two days earlier.
Last Time Against Oral Roberts
NDSU closed the 2020-21 season with a 3-1 victory over Oral Roberts on Sunday (April 11) afternoon inside the Dacotah Field Bubble.
The Bison went ahead 2-0 in the first half, with a pair of Bison freshmen notching the first career goals. Kelsey Kallio scored in the 17th minute, and Aliya Owens netted one in the 32nd minute. Olivia Lovick assisted on the first Bison goal, and Taylore Simmons and Kallio assisted on the second.
ORU cut the margin to 2-1 in the 70th minute on a rebound goal from Mia Kitterman. Lovick sealed the victory for NDSU with a goal in the final minute, outracing the Golden Eagles nearly the length of the field after ORU brought its goalkeeper up in a last-ditch effort.
NDSU outshot ORU in the match, 17-14. Bison goalkeeper Sofia Howe made six saves.
On The Day
The Bison will play for the sixth time in program history on October 1. The first meeting came in the program’s first season in 1995 at Mary, a 2-1 win for the Bison for the program’s second-ever victory. Oral Roberts is the sixth different opponent on the day, and the Bison hold a 3-2 record overall, but are just 1-2 in the Division I era. The Bison last played on the day in 2017, falling to Denver 3-0 in Colorado. In the only home game on the day, the Bison defeated St. Cloud State 3-0 in 2000 at the Ellig Sports Complex.
Picked Fifth in Summit League
North Dakota State was picked fifth in the Summit League preseason coaches’ poll. The Bison received 44 points in the vote, slotting them into the same position they closed the 2020-21 season conducted this past spring.
The Bison are coming off of a 7-8-1 campaign in the Summit League in the spring, which featured season sweeps of Omaha and Western Illinois, as well as wins against Kansas City, North Dakota and Oral Roberts.
Lovick, Schneider named Summit League Players to Watch
Olivia Lovick and Ellie Schneider were tabbed as players to watch in the Summit League. Lovick was named to the 2020 Summit League All-Newcomer team after leading the Bison with 14 points and six goals as a freshman.
Schneider played a team-best 1,260 minutes last season, recording two game-winning goals. The senior started all 16 matches and was third on the team with seven points this spring.
On the Horizon
The Bison will jump right back into Summit League action on Sunday, as North Dakota State will welcome in Kansas City for the second of three-straight matches at Dacotah Field to begin league play. NDSU will host the Roos with kickoff set for 12 p.m. on October 3.
*Courtesy Benjamin Dishong, NDSU Athletics
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