2016 Summit League Women's Soccer Championship
(1) North Dakota State vs. (4) Oral Roberts
Thursday, Nov. 3 | Noon
Dacotah Field | Fargo, N.D.
Live Stats | Live Video

NDSU Notes (PDF) | Tournament Bracket (PDF) | Championship Website

NDSU soccer on Twitter: @NDSUsoccer

---

Quick Notes:

• The North Dakota State University women's soccer team opens play in The Summit League Women's Soccer Championship Thursday, Nov. 3, at noon at Dacotah Field. The number one seed Bison will face the number four seed Oral Roberts Golden Eagles. 
• NDSU clinched its second consecutive Summit League regular season title with a 2-0 shutout win over IUPUI Sunday, Oct 30. Sophomore Britney Monteon netted the game-winning goal for the Bison, while senior Lizzie Lukas also found the back of the net. 
• NDSU has won three Summit League regular season titles (2009, 2015, 2016). 
• The Bison are making their eighth consecutive appearance in the league tournament and are hosting the event for the first time in league history. 
• North Dakota State completed the regular season with a 10-7-1 overall record and 5-2-1 Summit League mark. NDSU went 4-3-0 at home and 6-4-0 on the road. 

Tickets
Tickets prices for The Summit League Women's Soccer Championship at Dacotah Field are as follows:

• Adults - $8
• Children (17 and under): $5
• Students with valid ID: $5
• Children under two years of age are admitted free of charge

Series History
    Thursday's Summit League tournament contest against ORU will mark the ninth meeting in the all-time series. NDSU holds a 6-1-1 advantage in the series after claiming a 1-0 win over the Golden Eagles earlier this season in Tulsa, Okla.  The Bison and Golden Eagles have never met in Summit League tournament play. 

NDSU in The Summit League Championship
    The Bison are 4-6-1 in Summit League tournament play dating back to their first appearance in 2009. Last season, NDSU defeated fourth-seeded South Dakota in the opening round, 4-3 in double overtime, before falling to third-seeded and tournament host South Dakota State in the championship match, 3-0. 

Balanced Attack
    Entering Summit League tournament play, 13 different Bison have scored at least one goal. Sophomore Holly Enderle leads the team and is tied for The Summit League lead with 10 goals, while seniors Amy Yang and Lizzie Lukas have each scored four goals. Sophomore Malley O'Brien has found the back of the net three times, while senior Hannah Butzlaff, sophomore Britney Monteon and freshman Mariah Haberle have each netted two goals. Seniors Natalie Fenske, Autumn Muckenhirn, Lauren Miller, and Olivia Norman, junior Anna Reinholz, and sophomore Mallory Fenske each have one goal, respectively. 


Making the Pass
    The Bison have dished out 28 assists on 33 goals so far this season. Amy Yang and Mariah Haberle lead the team with six assists each, while Lauren Miller has five, Britney Monteon has three, Holly Enderle and Hannah Butzlaff each have two, and Lizzie Lukas, Mallory Fenske, Roxy Roemer and Hanna Norman each have one.

Clutch Scoring
    Four different Bison have netted game-winning goals this season. Amy Yang leads the team and The Summit League with four game-winners, while Holly Enderle has three, Britney Monteon has two, and Olivia Norman has one.  

Shutting Down Opponents
    The North Dakota State defense has tallied a Summit League-best nine shutouts entering tournament action. The back line has tallied a 1.05 goals-against average (GAA) and surrendered only 19 goals in 18 matches so far in 2016. Bison freshman goalkeeper Monica Polgar has a 9-7-1 record between the posts with six shutouts and has made 54 saves while giving up 19 goals for a 1.22 GAA. She has a .740 save percentage in 1,401 minutes in goal. 

Scouting Oral Roberts

• Oral Roberts enters Summit League tournament action at 10-9-1 overall after winning at Western Illinois Oct. 30, 1-0 in double overtime. 
• ORU has won five straight matches entering Thursday's tournament opener. 
• Through 20 matches, junior midfielder Lexi Jones has a team and Summit League-high 10 goals and 21 points, leading the Oral Roberts offensive attack.
• Sophomore goalkeeper Ryliegh Bohnenstiehl is 7-8-1 with two shutouts. She has 57 saves and has allowed 22 goals for a 1.37 GAA.  
• The Golden Eagles lead the league in goals with 37 and rank second in assists with 30. 
• As a team, ORU is averaging 1.85 goals per game while allowing 1.40 goals per game. Oral Roberts is outshooting opponents 17.2 to 9.9. 
• The Golden Eagles are under the direction of fourth season head coach Roger Bush. 

NDSU in the NCAA National Statistics

• Amy Yang ranks 40th in the latest NCAA Division I women's soccer national statistics with four game-winning goals.
• Enderle ranks 56th in goals with 10 and 65th in goals per game with 0.56. 
• Monica Polgar is 67th in shutouts with six. 
• As a team, NDSU ranks 37th in shutout percentage (.583), 74th in assists (28), 77th in assists per game (1.56), 70th in total goals (33) and 76th in points (94).

Summit League Player of the Week Honors

• Oct. 31: Monica Polgar, Fr., GK, Defensive Player of the Week
• Oct. 24: Holly Enderle, So., F, Offensive Player of the Week
• Oct. 2: Amy Yang, Sr., MF, Offensive Player of the Week; Monica Polgar, Fr., GK, Defensive Player of the Week
• Sept. 19: Holly Enderle, So., F, Offensive Player of the Week
• Sept. 5: Holly Enderle, So., F, Offensive Player of the Week
• Aug. 29: Monica Polgar, Fr., GK, Defensive Player of the Week

Natalie Fenske Earns CoSIDA Academic All-District Honors
    North Dakota State University women's soccer student-athlete Natalie Fenske was voted to the CoSIDA Academic All-District 6 First Team announced on Thursday, Oct. 27. The academic all-district teams were selected by members of the College Sports Information Directors Association (CoSIDA).
    Fenske earns her first career academic all-district honor. The senior defender and team captain has played and started in 15 of NDSU's 17 matches this season and has been an integral part of a North Dakota State defense that leads The Summit League with eight shutouts and ranks second in goals-against average at 1.11 and goals allowed with 19. A native of Woodbury, Minn., Fenske netted her first career goal in the Bison's 4-1 victory at North Dakota on Sept. 2. She has a 3.85 GPA in exercise science.
    With her first-team selection, Fenske advances to the CoSIDA Academic All-America Team ballot, where first-, second-, and third-team All-America honorees will be selected later this month.
    To be eligible for Academic All-America honors, student-athletes must have a 3.30 or better cumulative GPA on a 4-point scale, have sophomore athletic standing, and be a starter or key reserve for their team.

Hat-Trick Holly
    Holly Enderle became the first Bison to tally two hat tricks in one season since Lauren Miller accomplished the feat last season. Enderle compiled hat tricks at UND Sept. 2 and at UNC Asheville Sept. 16. Miller tallied hat tricks against St. Cloud State and at Denver last season. 

Natalie Fenske Selected as Candidate for Senior CLASS Award
    North Dakota State University women's soccer senior defender and team captain Natalie Fenske was one of 30 NCAA women's soccer student-athletes who excel both on and off the soccer field selected Friday, Oct. 7, as candidates for the 2016 Senior CLASS Award in collegiate women's soccer.
    To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition. The complete list of candidates follows this release.
    An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
    The 30 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition. The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2016 NCAA Women's College Cup championship in December.

NDSU Women's Soccer Earns NSCAA Team Academic Award
    The North Dakota State University women's soccer team earned the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Team Academic Award for exemplary performance in the classroom as a team during the 2015-16 academic year. 
    To qualify for the award, the team must have a minimum grade-point average of 3.0 or higher for the entire academic year. The team GPA is determined by adding every player's GPA, then dividing by the number of players. 
    The Bison posted a 3.50 team GPA for 2015-16.
    Fellow Summit League women's soccer teams IUPUI, Fort Wayne, South Dakota State and Denver also received the award.

Head Coach Mark Cook
    Mark Cook is in his fifth 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.
     Cook led NDSU to its first Summit League regular season title since 2009 with a 7-0-1 Summit League record in 2015. It was the first time in program history the Bison finished league play unbeaten. NDSU qualified for its seventh consecutive Summit League tournament and advanced to the tournament championship match for the second time in three seasons before falling to South Dakota State to finish the season at 13-6-1 overall. A program record nine student-athletes earned All-Summit League honors, including Goalkeeper of the Year Sierra Bonham, Offensive Player of the Year Lauren Miller and Freshman of the Year Britney Monteon. In addition, Cook was voted The Summit League Coach of the Year. Miller, along with Amy Yang, were named to the NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region Third Team to become the first Bison to be named NSCAA All-Region since 2003 and the first for North Dakota State in the Division I era. 
     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.