Quick Notes:

• The North Dakota State University women's soccer team is scheduled to begin play in The Summit League Women's Soccer Championship Thursday, Nov. 2, at 2:30 p.m. at Dacotah Field. The fourth-seeded Bison will take on top-seeded South Dakota State.
• NDSU is making its ninth straight appearance in The Summit League tournament and are hosting the event for the second consecutive season.
• The Bison have won three Summit League regular season titles (2009, 2015 and 2016) and one tournament title (2010).
• North Dakota State compiled an overall record of 7-10-0 and a league record of 5-2-0 during the regular season. NDSU went 6-1-0 at home but were only 1-9-0 on the road.

Tickets

• Ticket 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 match against South Dakota State will be the 24th meeting in the all-time series that dates back to 2000. SDSU leads the series, 11-9-3, and has won the last three meetings against the Bison. The Jackrabbits defeated the Bison in Brookings, 4-0, less than a week ago in the regular season finale Oct. 29. In tournament play, NDSU is 1-2-1 against the Jacks. The lone win against SDSU in the league tournament was a 2-1 triumph in 2013.
 
NDSU in The Summit League Tournament
        North Dakota State is 4-7-1 in Summit League tournament action dating back to its first appearance in 2009. Last season, the Bison fell to Oral Roberts in the opening round of the tournament, 2-0.

North Dakota State Notes

• NDSU enters Thursday's Summit League tournament contest at 7-10-0 overall after losing at South Dakota State Oct. 29, 4-0.
• The Bison finished in a three-way tie for second-place in The Summit League at 5-2-0.
• Through 17 matches, junior Malley O'Brien leads NDSU with six goals and one assist for 13 points. Sophomore Mariah Haberle has four goals for eight points, while junior Hanna Norman has three goals for six points. Freshman Danielle Algera has dished out a team-best four assists, while juniors Holly Enderle and Britney Monteon, and freshman Malana Vachon have each tallied two assists.
• O'Brien is tied for fifth in The Summit League in goals (6) and ranks fifth in points (13), and Algera is tied for third in the league in assists (4).
• Sophomore goalkeeper Monica Polgar is 7-5-0 with four shutouts and one shared shutout between the posts entering Thursday. She has a team-best 71 saves while allowing 18 goals for a goals-against average (GAA) of 1.65 and a save percentage of .798.
• Polgar ranks second in the league in saves (71) and is tied for second in shutouts (4/1).
• As a team, NDSU is scoring 1.06 goals per game while giving up 2.00 goals per game. The Bison are being outshot, 17.8 to 10.1.
• North Dakota State was picked to finish tied for second in The Summit League preseason poll.
• NDSU welcomes nine newcomers this season in freshmen Marian Taiwo (F), Danielle Algera (MF), Daniella Jasper (F/MF), Malana Vachon (MF), Brookelyn Dew (F/MF), Grace Sundberg (D), Ellen Schneider (D/MF) and Maddie Burnstein (D), and transfer Nicola De Pape (D).

Scouting South Dakota State

• South Dakota State enters Thursday with an overall record of 11-4-3 after defeating the Bison Oct. 29 in Brookings, 4-0. SDSU won The Summit League regular season title and earned the top seed in the tournament after going a perfect 7-0-0 in league play.
• Through 18 matches, SDSU is led by senior forward Nicole Hatcher with seven goals, seven assists and 21 points. Sophomore forward Leah Manuleleua is second on the team in total points with seven goals, three assists and 17 points. Hatcher leads The Summit League in assists, and ranks third in points and tied for third in goals.
• Sophomore goalkeeper Maggie Smither is 11-4-3 with a league-best six shutouts and two shared shutouts between the posts. She leads the league in saves (83), save percentage (.856) and GAA (0.80).
• As a team the Jackrabbits are averaging 1.61 goals per game while holding opponents to just 0.83 goals per game. SDSU is outshooting its adversaries, 15.4 to 9.9.
• South Dakota State was picked to finish tied for second in The Summit League preseason poll.
• SDSU is under the leadership of first season head coach Brock Thompson.

Forty-four Consecutive Starts and Counting
        Junior Hanna Norman has started in 44 consecutive matches dating back to her freshman season. She has started all 17 matches this season, while starting all 18 matches in 2016, and nine straight matches in 2015. Entering Thursday, Norman has played in 54 career matches, including 51 starts.  
 
Clutch Scoring
        Malley O'Brien leads the Bison with three game-winning goals, while Hanna Norman ranks second on the team with two game-winners. Britney Monteon and freshman Brookelyn Dew each have one game-winning goal.
 
New Playing Surface at Dacotah Field
        North Dakota State will be playing on a brand new FieldTurf artificial turf surface at Dacotah Field beginning this season. The turf was installed in the summer of 2017.
 
Summit League Player of the Week Honors

• Malley O'Brien, Offensive Player of the Week, Oct. 9
• Monica Polgar, Defensive Player of the Week, Sept. 18

Border States Electric Student-Athlete of the Week Honors

• Malley O'Brien, Oct. 10
• Monica Polgar, Sept. 26
• Hanna Norman, Sept. 19

NDSU Women's Soccer Earns United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Award
        The North Dakota State University women's soccer team earned the United Soccer Coaches (formerly the NSCAA) Team Academic Award for exemplary performance in the classroom as a team during the 2016-17 academic year.
        To qualify for the award, a team must have a minimum grade-point average (GPA) 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 3.49 team GPA for 2016-17.
        Fellow Summit League women's soccer teams Denver, Fort Wayne and South Dakota State also earned the honor.
 
Head Coach Mark Cook
        Mark Cook is in his sixth 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 helped the Bison claim their second straight Summit League regular season championship in 2016, as North Dakota State compiled an overall record of 10-8-1 and a league mark of 5-2-1. NDSU qualified for its eighth consecutive Summit League tournament and hosted the league tournament at Dacotah Field for the first time in program history. Seven student-athletes received All-Summit League honors. Holly Enderle and Amy Yang earned first team all-league accolades, while Natalie Fenske, Genna Joyce, Lizzie Lukas and Monica Polgar were named second team all-league. Mariah Haberle rounded out the Bison honorees and was named to the all-freshmen team, respectively.
        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.