Women's Soccer | 9/8/2016 5:20:00 PM

North Dakota State vs. Utah
Sunday, Sept. 11 | Noon
Dacotah Field | Fargo, N.D.
Live Stats | Live Video | Radio: Bison 1660 AM (Keith Brake, play-by-play)

NDSU Notes (PDF)

NDSU soccer on Twitter: @NDSUsoccer

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Quick Notes:

• The North Dakota State University women's soccer team is slated to host the University of Utah on Sunday, Sept. 11, at noon on Dacotah Field. 
• The Bison went 1-1-0 last weekend, rolling to a 4-1 win at North Dakota before falling at Washington State, 5-0. 
• North Dakota State sophomore forward Holly Enderle netted her first career hat-trick in the Bison's 4-1 triumph at UND and was named The Summit League Co-Offensive Player of the Week for Aug. 29 through Sept. 5. 
• Senior defender Natalie Fenske scored her first career goal in North Dakota State's victory at North Dakota. 
• Freshman forward Mariah Haberle and senior midfielder Amy Yang each dished out two assists in the Bison's win at UND.  
• North Dakota State returns seven starters from last season's Summit League regular season championship team, including six All-Summit League honorees. 
• The Bison welcome back reigning Summit League Offensive Player of the Year Lauren Miller and Freshman of the Year Britney Monteon. 

The Series Against Utah
    Sunday's match against the Utah Utes will mark the first-ever meeting in the all-time series. 

Scouting Utah

• The University of Utah Utes enter the weekend at 3-2-0 overall after falling at 10th-ranked BYU Sept. 5, 2-0. 
• Utah will play at Purdue on Friday, Sept. 9, before traveling to Fargo to take on the Bison Sunday.
• Through five matches, the Utes are led offensively by sophomore forward/defender Hailey Skolmoski with four goals, two game-winning goals and eight total points. Sophomore midfielder Eden Jacobsen is second on the team in scoring with two goals. 
• Senior midfielder Katie Rogers, senior forward Taylor Slattery, freshman defender Aleea Gwerder and junior forward/midfielder Cabria Turang each have two assists for the Utes.
• Freshman goalkeepers Carly Nelson and July Mathias have each played in three matches, with Mathias starting three and Nelson starting two contests. Nelson leads the team with six saves and has allowed two goals for a 0.93 goals-against average (GAA). She has a .750 save percentage to go along with a 1-1 record with one shutout. Mathias has two saves and has given up three goals for a 1.05 GAA. She has a .400 save percentage in addition to a 2-1-0 record with two shutouts. 
• As a team, Utah is averaging two goals per game while limiting its opponents to one goal per game.  
• The Utes were picked ninth in the 2016 Pac-12 preseason poll.
• Utah is under the direction of 15th season head coach Rich Manning (156-105-34 career record). 

Catching Up with The Herd

• North Dakota State enters the weekend at 3-3-0 overall after falling at Washington State Sunday, Sept. 4, 5-0, and winning at North Dakota Friday, Sept. 2, 4-1. 
• In the Bison's win at UND, sophomore forward Holly Enderle netted her first career hat-trick, scoring goals in the eighth, 26th and 33rd minutes. It was the first hat-trick since Lauren Miller netted three goals at Denver last season. 
• Senior defender Natalie Fenske netted her first career goal in NDSU's victory over the Fighting Hawks Sept. 2, converting a header off an Amy Yang corner kick in the 44th-minute. 
• Freshman forward Mariah Haberle dished out a season and career-best two assists in NDSU's win at UND, while Yang tallied a season-high two assists. 
• Through six matches, Enderle leads NDSU offensively with three goals, while Enderle and Yang are tied with six points each. Haberle and Miller both have a team-high three assists. Yang has two goals, and Autumn Muckenhirn and Natalie Fenske have each netted one goal. 
• Freshman goalkeeper Monica Polgar has started all six matches in-goal for NDSU, compiling a 3-3-0 record with two shutouts, 26 saves and a 1.33 GAA. She has allowed eight goals this season. Polgar was named The Summit League Defensive Player of the Week for Aug. 22-28.  
• As a team, the Bison are averaging 1.17 goals per game while allowing 1.33 goals per game. 
• For the first time in program history, North Dakota State was picked as the preseason favorite in The Summit League preseason coaches' poll.
• The Bison welcome eight newcomers in freshmen Monica Polgar (GK), Mariah Haberle (F), Anna Triller (MF), Laura Powell (D), Emily Boyer (MF), Julia Densmore (D) and Leah Emerson (F), and transfer Malley O'Brien (MF).
• North Dakota State returns 92 percent of its scoring from last season. 
• The Bison return every player who netted a game-winning goal in 2015. 

Looking Back at 2015

• The Bison tallied a 13-6-1 overall record and went unbeaten in Summit League play at 7-0-1 for the first time in program history, claiming the league's regular season championship for the first time since 2009.
• The 13 wins marked the most victories since the 2011 season.
• NDSU went a perfect 4-0-0 at home in Summit League competition.
• The Bison has a program record nine student-athletes earn All-Summit League honors, including Offensive Player of the Year Lauren Miller, Goalkeeper of the Year Sierra Bonham and Freshman of the Year Britney Monteon. In addition, head coach Mark Cook was voted The Summit League Coach of the Year.
• Miller and Amy Yang were named to the NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region Third Team.
• Miller, Yang and Meghan Johnston were voted to The Summit League Academic All-League Team.
• Miller set a new NDSU single-season record for goals (18) and points (41).
• Bonham tied the NDSU single-=season record with 111 saves.

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.

On the Horizon
    North Dakota State travels to North Carolina for a pair of matches. The Bison play at UNC Asheville Sept. 16 before wrapping up the trip with a match at UNC Wilmington Sept. 18. UNC Wilmington is receiving votes in the latest NSCAA Division I National Poll.