NDSU Soccer Opens 2015 Season with Pair of Exhibition Matches

Thursday, August 13

Fargo, N.D.

7 p.m.

North Dakota State

Viterbo (Exhibition)

Photo by: Bob Nelson

NDSU Soccer Opens 2015 Season with Pair of Exhibition Matches

8/11/2015 2:06:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Thursday, Aug. 13: Viterbo University (Exhibition)
Dacotah Field | Fargo, N.D. | 7 p.m.
Playing Surface: Artificial (Sprinturf)

Live Stats

Sunday, Aug. 16: at Kansas (Exhibition)
Rock Chalk Park (2,500) | Lawrence, Kan. | 1 p.m.
Playing Surface: Natural Grass

Live Stats | Radio

Social Media: @NDSUsoccer | 2015 NDSU Quick Facts (PDF)

NDSU Soccer Opens 2015 Season with Pair of Exhibition Matches
The North Dakota State University women's soccer team opens the 2015 season at home on Thursday, Aug. 13, by hosting Viterbo University in an exhibition match at Dacotah Field. The Bison will conclude the exhibition portion of their schedule with a match at Kansas three days later on Sunday, Aug. 16.

Road Warriors
Seven of the Bison's first nine matches will be played away from the friendly confines of Dacotah Field. NDSU's lone home matches during that span will be the regular season home opener on Aug. 28 with St. Cloud State and against North Dakota on Sept. 11.

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.

Rewind to 2014

The Bison compiled an overall record of 8-8-2 and a Summit League mark of 4-2-2 last season, finishing fourth in the league.
NDSU qualified for The Summit League Women's Soccer Championship for the sixth consecutive season.
The Bison had five student-athletes named All-Summit League, including 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 .827 save percentage. Bonham was the first-ever NDSU student-athlete to earn the honor.
Bonham as well as Lauren Miller were selected to the All-Summit League first team, while Meghan Johnston, Anisha Kinnarath and Amy Yang were named second team all-league.
Miller led the team in goals (9), points (19), shots on goal (23) and game-winning goals (5), while Yang dished out a team-high five assists.
NDSU averaged 1.22 goals per game and netted 22 goals on 196 shot attempts.

Previewing 2015

The Bison welcome back eight starters and 13 letterwinners from last season's team, including All-Summit League performers in Sierra Bonham, Lauren Miller, Meghan Johnston and Amy Yang.
NDSU welcomes seven newcomers in freshmen Hanna Norman (D), Roxy Roemer (MF), Holly Enderle (F), Mallory Fenske (D), Taylor Turner (D) and Britney Monteon (F), and transfer Julia Edelstein (GK).
North Dakota State returns 77 percent of its goal scoring from last season.

Analyzing the Opponents

Viterbo University:
- The Viterbo University Hawks, a member of the NAIA, finished the 2014 season with an overall record of 14-4-0 and a North Star Athletic Association mark of 4-2-0.
- The Hawks top returning goal scorer is senior Molly Machometa (McHenry, Ill.), who scored a team-high 24 goals while dishing out four assists for a team-best 52 points. Machometa was an NAIA Honorable Mention All-American, the MCC Player of the Year and was selected to the MCC All-Conference first team last season. She broke the Viterbo school record for career goals with 72, points with 165 and game-winning goals with 17.
- Viterbo is under the direction of seventh season head coach Scott Pirnstill.
- Thursday's match will mark the first-ever meeting between the Bison and Hawks on the pitch.

Kansas:
- The Kansas Jayhawks, a member of the Big 12 Conference, compiled a 15-6-0 overall record and finished third in the Big 12 at 5-3 last season.
- KU was an impressive 10-2-0 at home last season.
- The Jayhawks played fellow Summit League member South Dakota State in an exhibition match last season in Lawrence, defeating the Jackrabbits, 3-0. Kansas is scheduled to host the Jacks in a regular season match this season.
- Kansas' top returning goal scorer is senior Liana Salazar (Bogota, Colombia), who netted a team-high 13 goals while tallying four assists for a team-best 30 points. Salazar ranked second in the Big 12 in points, points per game, goals and goals per game.
- KU ranked third in the Big 12 in goals (35), goals per game (1.67/game), goals allowed (17), goals-against average (0.80) and yellow cards (14).
- The Jayhawks are under the leadership of 16^th season head coach Mark Francis (SMU, 1987).
- Sunday's exhibition tilt in Lawrence will be the first-ever meeting between NDSU and KU in soccer.

Up Next
The Bison will open the 2015 regular season with two matches against Big Ten Conference foes. NDSU will travel to Minneapolis, Minn., to face the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the regular season opener Aug. 21, before heading to Madison, Wis., for a match with the Wisconsin Badgers Aug. 23.