NDSU Soccer Welcomes Bemidji State to Dacotah Field Tuesday for Final Exhibition Match

Tuesday, August 19

Fargo, N.D.

7 p.m.

North Dakota State

Bemidji State (Exhibition)

Photo by: Dennis Hubbard

NDSU Soccer Welcomes Bemidji State to Dacotah Field Tuesday for Final Exhibition Match

8/18/2014 1:30:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Tuesday, Aug. 19: Bemidji State University (Exhibition Match)
Dacotah Field | Fargo, N.D. | 7 p.m.
Playing Surface: Artificial (Sprinturf)

Live Stats | 2013 NDSU Stats | 2013 Jamestown Stats

@NDSUathletics | @NDSUsoccer

Bison Entertain Beavers to Wrap-Up 2014 Exhibition Slate
The North Dakota State women's soccer team will close out the exhibition portion of its 2014 schedule against Bemidji State Tuesday, Aug. 19, at 7 p.m. at Dacotah Field. The Bison are coming off a 4-0 win over Jamestown in their exhibition season opener Saturday, Aug. 16.

No Place Like Home
   NDSU's match against Bemidji State will mark the second match of a four match homestand to kick-off the 2014 campaign. The Bison will face North Dakota Friday, Aug. 22, at 7 p.m. to open the regular season before battling Presentation College Sunday, Aug. 24, at 6 p.m. to finish the homestand.
   North Dakota State will play a total of nine home matches this season, including a showdown with Big 12 foe Iowa State on Sept. 7.

NDSU Beats Jamestown, 4-0, in Exhibition Season Opener
   The North Dakota State University women's soccer team started the 2014 season with a convincing 4-0 shutout win over the University of Jamestown Jimmies in a weather-shortened exhibition match Saturday, Aug. 16, under the lights of Dacotah Field. The match was called due to inclement weather with 12:30 remaining in the second-half.
   Lizzie Lukas paced the Bison with a goal and an assist while Olivia Norman, Tiana Khamvongsa and Genna Joyce also found the back of the net for NDSU.

Head Coach Mark Cook
   Mark Cook is entering his third season at the helm of the North Dakota State soccer program after being named head coach on Jan. 25, 2012. He is the fourth head coach in the 17-year history of the program.
   Last season, Cook led NDSU to an overall record of 9-10 and a third place finish in The Summit League with a record of 4-3. The Bison advanced to The Summit League tournament championship match with a 2-1 upset win over South Dakota State before falling to Denver to finish runner-up in the event. It was NDSU's fifth straight appearance in the league tournament.
   Cook came to NDSU after serving as the Director of Coaching at the Minnesota Thunder Academy for 11 years, where he grew a four-team program into one of the premier club programs in the Twin Cities with 65 teams in 2012.
   He graduated from Alfred (N.Y.) University in 1993 with a bachelor's degree in communications. He was the starting goalkeeper at Alfred for two years.

Analyzing the Opponent
   The Bemidji State Beavers open their 2014 season against the Bison Tuesday. Last season, the Beavers posted an overall record of 12-7 and were 9-6 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) play. NDSU defeated BSU last season in exhibition play, 2-0.
   The Beavers return their top offensive contributor from 2013 in Sarah Stram, who scored seven goals and had five assists for a team-best 19 points. Sonja Barr returns as the primary goalkeeper for the Beavers this season. Barr posted a 9-5 record with six shutouts in goal last season. She posted a goals-against average (GAA) of 0.81 and made 79 saves in 1,219 minutes between the pipes. As a team, the Beavers averaged 1.74 goals per game while limiting their opponents to 1.05 per game in 2013.

A Brief Look Back at Last Season

North Dakota State completed the 2013 season with an overall record of 9-10 and a Summit League mark of 4-3.
The Bison advanced to the championship match of The Summit League tournament before falling to 14th ranked Denver, 5-1.
NDSU's Lauren Miller and Anisha Kinnarath were selected to the All-Summit League first team with Miller being named the league's Freshman of the Year. Sierra Bonham and Steph Jacobson garnered second team all-league honors while Amy Yang and Miller were named to the league's freshmen team.
Miller led the team in goals (10), assists (7), points (27) and shots (53) while Kinnarath was second on the team in goals (9), assists (3), points (21) and shots (49).
Bonham posted a record of 8-9 in goal for NDSU with a goals-against average of 1.78. She made 102 saves and posted four shutouts between the pipes.
The Bison averaged 1.32 goals per game and scored 25 goals in 190 shot attempts.

Previewing 2014

NDSU returns nine starters from last season's Summit League tournament runner-up team, including four All-Summit League performers in Lauren Miller, Anisha Kinnarath, Sierra Bonham and Amy Yang.
The Bison were picked third out of nine teams in The Summit League's preseason poll released Wednesday, Aug. 13.
North Dakota State welcomes seven new student-athletes this season in freshmen Jenna Zaeske, Cydney Coffey, Anna Reinholz, Brittany Mueller, Mia Johansson and Sam Verbeke along with junior transfer Audrey Mascal.
The Bison return 88 percent of their goal scoring from last season.