NDSU Travels to New Orleans for 2005 Opener at Tulane
8/23/2005 5:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
THE GAMES:
North Dakota State starts its second season of Division I soccer with its first trip to the state of Lousiana. The Bison will play a pair of matches at the Tulane University Tournament in New Orleans.NDSU will open with a match against Troy University on Friday, Aug. 26 at 5 p.m. The second game pits the Bison up against the University of Alabama on Sunday, Aug. 28 at noon. Both games will be played at the Westfeldt Facility on the campus of Tulane.
The Bison are 6-4 all-time in season openers. They lost 2-1 in double-overtime at IPFW in 2004.
SCOUTING TROY: This will be the first ever meeting between NDSU and Troy. The Trojans are coming off of a 5-10-3 record with a 3-5-2 mark in the Sun Belt Conference. The match represents the season-opener for both squads.
With 17 points, Brittany Stoltz led the team in points as a freshman in 2004. She ended the year with a team-high five assists and a share for the lead in goals with six.
Troy returns eight starters and 14 letterwinners. They are led by second-year head coach Diana Niland.
SCOUTING ALABAMA: In his 20th year of coaching and 11th at Alabama, Don Staley guided the Crimson Tide to a 10-11 record with a 5-6 mark in the Southeastern Conference in 2004.
Staley's team returns 12 letterwinners while losing four.
Alabama scored a 1-0 victory against the Samford Bulldogs in exhibition play on Aug. 20. The Tide open the regular season against host Tulane University on Aug. 26.
The Sunday match-up with the Bison will be the first meeting between the schools.
BISON AMONGST INDEPENDENTS: North Dakota State is one of nine schools competing as independents in Division I soccer. In 2004, NDSU's five wins placed them in a tie for fourth place for number of victories behind Kennesaw State (12), Colorado College (8) and IPFW (6).
INDEPENDENT WEEKLY AWARDS: Nine NCAA Division I independent soccer teams have joined forces to select three weekly award winners. Sports information directors from each school will choose a Player of the Week, Defensive Player of the Week and Newcomer of the Week. The first set of awards will be announced Wednesday, Sept. 7.
NEW FACES, NEW PLACES: North Dakota State welcomes six freshmen and one transfer to this year's team. Nicole Rand, Becky Iwanicki and Holly Ramaeker will compete for playing time as midfielders. At the forward position, Jestina Orlando and Stacey Howell will bring immediate depth to the team. Karli Kopietz joins the Bison in goal via the University of Minnesota. Another new goalie, Megan Carrica, joins the team but will sit out the year with a medical hardship after an injury during the summer.
In addition, eight Bison made position changes in the offseason.
| Player | 2004 Position | 2005 Position |
| Olivia Cole | Forward | Midfielder |
| Angie Stenson | Midfielder | Forward |
| Jami Rozell | Forward | Defender |
| Becky Skrypek | Midfielder | Defender |
| Erin Tierney | Midfielder | Forward |
| Danille Thompson | Midfielder | Forward |
| Patty Romeo | Defender | Midfielder |
| Chelsea Body | Defender | Forward |
HEAD COACH: Pete Cuadrado, in his third season at North Dakota State, led the Bison to a 5-11-1 record in 2004 in its first season at the Division I level. NDSU finished last season with a 1-2 record against fellow D-I Independents and their overall record was tied for fourth best among independents.
In his first year, Cuadrado guided the Bison to an 11-3-2 record. The .750 winning percentage during that 2003 season was the second highest in the history of Bison soccer.
