Match Central

Saturday, Nov. 7 vs. (3) South Dakota State (11-5-3)
Fishback Soccer Park | Brookings, S.D. | 12 p.m.
Summit League Women's Soccer Championship Match
Tournament Website

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No. 1 Seed Bison Set to Battle No. 3 Seed Jackrabbits for Summit League Tournament Title
The top-seeded North Dakota State University women's soccer team (13-5-1) will battle third-seeded South Dakota State (11-5-3) in The Summit League Women's Soccer Championship match on Saturday, Nov. 7, at noon at Fishback Soccer Park in Brookings, S.D.  
 
Summit League Tournament Media Coverage
For complete Summit League Women's Soccer Championship coverage, please visit the official tournament website at http://thesummitleague.org/sports/wsoc/2015-16/championship/index.   
 
The Series Against South Dakota State
Sunday's Summit League title match against the Jacks will be the 21st meeting in the all-time series. NDSU leads the series 9-8-3. NDSU and SDSU played to a scoreless draw in double overtime earlier this season in Brookings on Oct. 18. The Bison are 1-1-1 against the Jackrabbits in Summit League tournament competition. Last season, NDSU fell to SDSU in the first round of the league tournament in Denver, Colo., 2-1. 
 
NDSU in The Summit League Tournament

• The Bison are 4-4-1 in Summit League tournament play dating back to their first appearance in 2009.
• North Dakota State will be making its fourth appearance in the league championship match on Saturday.
• NDSU is 1-2-0 all-time in Summit League tournament championship matches. 
• The Bison last captured the tournament championship in 2010. 

Herd Quick Hits

• North Dakota State is 13-5-1 overall entering Saturday's match after defeating fourth-seeded South Dakota, 4-3, in double overtime in the semifinals on Thursday, Nov. 5.
• With their 2-1 win at IUPUI on Oct. 30, the Bison secured their first Summit League regular season championship since 2009.
• NDSU finished the regular season with an impressive 6-1-0 record at home. The Bison were 5-4-1 on the road and 1-0-0 at neutral sites.
• With its double overtime victory over South Dakota Thursday, North Dakota State improved to 6-1-1 in overtime matches this season. 
• Through 19 matches, Summit League Offensive Player of the Year Lauren Miller leads the team and The Summit League with 18 goals, 42 points and six game-winning goals. Amy Yang paces NDSU and leads the league in assists with nine, while Miller is second on the team and third in the league with six.
• Summit League Freshman of the Year Britney Monteon ranks second on the team and in the league in game-winning goals with four.
• Summit League Goalkeeper of the Year Sierra Bonham has started all 19 matches for NDSU, compiling a 13-5-1 record with a career-high eight shutouts. The Red Deer, Alberta, native ranks second in The Summit League in saves with 111 and second in GAA at 1.14. Bonham has allowed 23 goals in 1,817:35 minutes between the pipes.
• As a team, NDSU is averaging 1.95 goals per game while holding its opponents to 1.21 per game. The Bison boast a 88-58 advantage in corner kicks taken through 19 matches.  
• NDSU was picked third out of nine teams for the second consecutive year in The Summit League Preseason Coaches' Poll.

 
Semifinal Recap: North Dakota State 4, South Dakota 3 (2OT)
Freshman Britney Monteon netted a goal less than a minute into the second sudden-victory extra time period to give the North Dakota State University women's soccer team (13-5-1) a thrilling 4-3 win over South Dakota (8-12-0) in The Summit League Women's Soccer Championship semifinals on Thursday, Nov. 5, at Fishback Soccer Park in Brookings.

The No. 1 seed Bison will take on No. 3 seed and tournament host South Dakota State in the championship match on Saturday, Nov. 7, at noon.

After neither team was able to score in the first extra time period, Monteon struck a cross that found space just inside the left post in the 101st-minute, sealing the dramatic win for the Bison. It was Monteon's fourth goal of the season, with all four being game-winners.

Junior forward Lauren Miller tied the match, 3-3, in the last minute of the second-half with her second goal of the match and 18th goal of the season after South Dakota's Corey Strang netted her second goal of the contest to give the Yotes a 3-2 advantage in the 86th-minute. Miller corralled a throw-in from freshman Roxy Roemer and shot it near-post into the back of the net from inside the box.

Miller also netted the opening goal of the match in the ninth-minute.

South Dakota leveled the match, 1-1, with a goal from Taylor Nivala in the 19th-minute, and the match remained tied going into halftime.

The Coyotes were able to gain a 2-1 lead in the 69th-minute on Strang's first goal of the match, but junior midfielder Amy Yang answered for NDSU just four minutes later, netting the equalizer off a Miller pass in the 73rd-minute. It was Yang's fifth goal of the season and Miller's sixth assist.

Senior goalkeeper Sierra Bonham tallied a match-high 10 saves and went the full 100-plus minutes between the pipes to pick up the win and improve to 13-5-1 on the season.

History Made
The Bison finished The Summit League season unbeaten at 7-0-1 for the first time in program history. NDSU was also a flawless 4-0-0 at home in league play.

Miller Continues to Rewrite NDSU Season Record Books
After her two goals and one assist in NDSU's semifinal win over South Dakota Thursday, Lauren Miller established a new NDSU single season points record with 42, passing former Bison Nicole VandenBos, who tallied 37 points in 1999 with 15 goals and seven assists. Miller already owns the single season goals record with 18 and is tied for the game-winning goals season record with six. 
 
Bonham Ties NDSU Single Season Saves Record
Sierra Bonham, who already owns the career saves (401) and shutouts (20.1) records at NDSU, tied former Bison Kalani Bertsch (2008) for most saves in a single season at 111 after making a match-high 10 stops in NDSU's semifinal triumph Thursday. 

NDSU Dominates All-Summit League Selections
The 2015 Summit League regular season champion North Dakota State University women's soccer team had a program record nine student-athletes earn All-Summit League honors, including the Offensive Player of the Year in junior forward Lauren Miller, Goalkeeper of the Year in senior Sierra Bonham and Freshman of the Year in forward Britney Monteon. In addition, NDSU head coach Mark Cook was voted The Summit League Coach of the Year.

Miller, Bonham, redshirt junior defender Natalie Fenske and junior midfielder Amy Yang were named to the All-Summit League first team, while senior defender Meghan Johnston and redshirt junior defender Tori Veth were selected second team all-league. Monteon, defender Hanna Norman and midfielder Roxy Roemer were named to the league's all-freshmen team.

Goals, Goals and more Goals!
Entering Saturday, 12 different Bison have scored at least one goal. Here's the breakdown: Lauren Miller, 18; Amy Yang, 5; Britney Monteon, 4; Hanna Norman, 2; Roxy Roemer, Olivia Norman, Holly Enderle, Brittany Mueller, Meghan Johnston, Mallory Fenske, Tori Veth and Sam Verbeke, 1.
 
About South Dakota State

• South Dakota State enters Saturday's league title match at 11-5-3 overall after defeating second-seeded Oral Roberts, 3-1, in the semifinals Thursday afternoon. 
• Through 19 matches, Diana Potterveld leads the team with seven goals, four assists and 18 points, while Brittany Jensen and Madison Yueill are tied for second on the team in scoring with four goals each.
• SDSU goalkeeper Nicole Inskeep has appeared in 18 matches and made 14 starts, compiling a 10-5-3 record with seven shutouts. Hardin has made 86 saves and allowed 18 goals for a team and Summit League-best 0.96 GAA. She has a .827 save percentage in 1,692:06 minutes in goal.
• The Jackrabbits are averaging 1.37 goals per game while holding opponents to a Summit League-low 0.95 per game through 19 matches. 
• South Dakota State has taken 105 corner kicks while limiting adversaries to just 51 corners entering Saturday. 
• The Jackrabbits are under the direction of 15th-season head coach Lang Wedemeyer. 

 
Scoring Early
Through 19 matches, the Bison are outscoring their opponents in the first-half, 15-10. NDSU also holds a 16-12 edge in second-half scoring. 
 
NDSU Summit League Players of the Week
Lauren Miller - Aug. 31, Oct. 5, Oct. 12, Nov. 2 ... Sierra Bonham - Sept. 14, Oct. 5., Nov. 2
 
Miller Sets New Summit League Player of the Week Record
With her selection as The Summit League Offensive Player of the Week for Nov. 2, Lauren Miller set a new league record with her eighth career award and equaled the season record of four.
 
NDSU in The Summit League Statistics (As of Nov. 6)
Relevant Team Statistics (All Matches):
Goals - 2nd (37) ... Assists - 2nd (30) ... Shots - 1st (308) ... Goals per game - T-1st (1.9) ... Goals Allowed - 8th (23) ... Shot percentage - 3rd (.120) ... GAA - 2nd (1.14) ... Corner kicks - 2nd (88) ... Yellow Cards - T-1st (15).
 
Relevant Individual Statistics (All Matches):
Lauren Miller - Goals: 1st (18), Points:1st (42), Assists: T-3rd (6), Shots: 1st (89), SOG: 1st (41) ... Amy Yang - Assists: 1st (9), Goals: 9th (5), Points: 5th (19), Shots: 3rd (54) ... Britney Monteon - Assists: T-5th (5), Yellow Cards - T-1st (4) ... Sierra Bonham - Saves: 2nd (111), GAA: 2nd (1.14), Save percentage: 1st (.828), Goals allowed: 5th (23), Minutes: 1st (1,817:35).
 
NDSU in the NCAA Statistics (As of Nov. 5)
Relevant Team Statistics:
Yellow Cards - 42nd out of 335 (15), Assists - 66th out of 335 (30), Assists Per Game - 64th out of 335 (1.58), Points Per Game - 44th out of 335 (5.47), Scoring Offense - 43rd out of 335 (1.95), Save Percentage - 51st out of 335 (.831), Saves Per Game - 50th out of 335 (5.95), Goals - 44th out of 335 (37).
 
Relevant Individual Statistics:
Lauren Miller - Goals - 4th out of 150 (18), Goals Per Game - 4th out of 150 (0.95), Points - 5th out of 150 (42), Points Per Game - 6th out of 150 (2.21), Game-Winning Goals - 6th out of 150 (6), Shots Per Game - 18th out of 150 (4.68), Shots on Goal Per Game - 20th out of 150 (2.16) ... Amy Yang - Assists: 21st out of 150 (9), Assists Per Game: 31st out of 150 (0.47) Sierra Bonham - Saves: 19th out of 150 (111), Saves Per Game: 40th out of 150 (5.84), Goalie Minutes Played - 26th out of 150 (1,817:35) ... Britney Monteon - Yellow Cards: 7th out of 100 (5).
 
Bonham Ranked Third on NCAA Active Career Saves List
Sierra Bonham ranks third on the latest NCAA Active Career Saves List with 401 stops in 72 career matches.
 
Head Coach Mark Cook
Mark Cook is in his fourth season at the helm of the North Dakota State soccer program after being named head coach in 2012.  He is the fourth head coach in the 20-year history of the program.

Last season, Cook led the Bison to an 8-8-2 overall record and a fourth place finish in The Summit League with a league mark of 4-2-2. North Dakota State made its sixth consecutive appearance in The Summit League tournament and had five student-athletes named All-Summit League, including goalkeeper Sierra Bonham, who was named the league's Goalkeeper of the Year after compiling a 0.94 goals-against average with 5.1 shutouts and a save percentage of .827. Bonham was the first-ever NDSU student-athlete to earn the honor.

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.

Cook holds the United States Soccer Federation 'A' coaching license, the highest certification available in the U.S.  He also has the NSCAA Premier License and Director of Coaching Diploma.

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.