Bison Soccer Opens Dacotah Field Era Against Idaho and Minnesota-Duluth

The North Dakota State women's soccer team will officially open the Dacotah Field era this Friday, Sept. 6 and Sunday, Sept. 8 when they host Idaho and Minnesota-Duluth. The Bison will battle the Idaho Vandals in the inaugural regular season match at Dacotah Field Friday beginning at 5 p.m. before hosting the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs Sunday at 1 p.m.

The Series against Idaho

The match Friday against the Vandals will mark the fourth meeting all-time. The Bison trail in the series 0-3-0. Last season NDSU fell to Idaho in Moscow 2-0, giving up two goals in the final 20 minutes of the match. 

The Series against Minnesota-Duluth

Sunday afternoon's match against the Bulldogs will be the ninth meeting all-time. NDSU trails in the series 2-4-2. The last meeting for the two teams came in 2003, with the Bison claiming a 4-3 win over the Bulldogs. NDSU was still an NCAA Division II program at that time. 

About the Idaho Vandals

Idaho enters the week with an overall record of 0-3-0 after suffering a 5-0 loss at Washington State Aug. 30. The Vandals have yet to score a goal this season. Four players have recorded two shots for Idaho. Defensively, the Vandals goalkeepers have split time between the pipes in their first three matches. Marina Siegl has a 2.67 goals-against-average, allowing four goals while saving 10. Her record through three matches is 0-2-0. Torell Stewart, Idaho's other goalie, has a 4.00 goals-against-average, allowing six goals. She has 12 saves and an 0-1-0 mark in-goal. 

About the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs

The Bulldogs, a member of NCAA Division II, open their season Thursday, Sept. 5 against Northern Michigan in Duluth. Last season the Bulldogs posted an overall record of 8-7-3. Minnesota- Duluth returns its top scorer from 2012 this season in Maureen Stormont, who tallied 11 goals and two assists in 18 matches. The Bulldogs primary keeper from 2012 returns to the pitch in 2013. Marissa Rosa had a goals-against-average of 1.62 in 15 matches last season, allowing 21 goals while saving 48. Her record in-goal was 7-4-2 with three shutouts. 

Catching Up with the Bison

NDSU has an overall record of 1-3-0 after dropping its past three matches. The Bison opened the 2013 season Aug. 23 and 25 in the Minnesota Golden Gopher Tournament, splitting a pair of matches against Belmont and Minnesota. North Dakota State defeated Belmont 2-0 before falling to the host Golden Gophers 4-1. The Bison traveled to New York City last weekend for a two matches at Hofstra and St. John's. NDSU fell to Hofstra, 3-1, Aug. 30 before losing to St. John's, 5-0, Sept. 1. 

A Look at the Numbers

Through their first four matches, the Bison have scored four goals. NDSU is paced by Anisha Kinnarath with two while Lauren Miller and Katie Tallas each have scored one goal. Miller leads the team in assists with three. Overall, the Bison are averaging a goal per match while their opponents are averaging three per match. NDSU is only averaging 6.2 shots per match through four matches while their opponents are averaging 26.2 per match. The Bison have only taken one corner kick in their first four matches while their foes have taken 38. 

A Glance In-Goal

Bison sophomore goalkeeper Sierra Bonham has been a force in-goal through four matches, making 37 saves. In the 4-1 loss to Minnesota Aug. 25 Bonham made a career-best 13 saves. She has played 326:30 between the pipes with one shutout and a 1-3-0 record in-goal. 

Bison Picked Fourth in Summit League Preseason Poll

NDSU women's soccer was tabbed fourth in The Summit League preseason poll. Newcomer Denver was first, Fort Wayne second, Western Illinois third, the Bison fourth, South Dakota State fifth, Nebraska-Omaha sixth while IUPUI and South Dakota tied for seventh. 

Head Coach Mark Cook

Mark Cook is in his second season as the head coach of the North Dakota State University Bison women's soccer team and has a career record of 9-13-0. Cook led the Bison to an 8-10-0 overall record and a third place finish in The Summit League with a record of 5-3-0 in his inaugural season as the bench boss last year. He also led the Bison to their fourth straight bid to the conference postseason tournament with the third place finish in 2012. 

     Cook came to NDSU after serving as the Director of Coaching at the Minnesota Thunder Academy for 11 years, where he transformed a program with just four teams to one of the premier soccer club programs in the Twin Cities with 65 teams as of 2012. Under his leadership, Minnesota Thunder Academy placed almost 85 percent of all club graduates in collegiate soccer programs. 

     He graduated from Alfred (N.Y.) University in 1993 with a bachelor's degree in communications. 

The Opposing Coaches

Peter Showler - University of Idaho Vandals

The Idaho Vandals are under the direction of ninth season head coach Peter Showler. He has a career record at Idaho of 46-103-9. Showler earned his bachelor's degree in Education from the University of Sunderland in England in 1994.

Greg Cane - University of Minnesota-Duluth

The Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs are led by 19th season head coach Greg Cane. His career record at Duluth is 203-112-32. Cane earned bachelor's degrees in secondary education and history from the College of St. Scholastica in 1983.