Quick Notes:

• The North Dakota State University women's soccer team returns home to the friendly confines of Dacotah Field for the first time in almost a month when it hosts Utah Valley Sunday, Sept. 17, at 1 p.m. The Bison will look to end an eight-game losing streak dating back to the 2017 season opener.
• North Dakota State returns five starters from last season's Summit League regular season championship team, including All-Summit League honorees Holly Enderle, Monica Polgar and Mariah Haberle.

The Series Against Utah Valley
        Sunday's showdown against the Utah Valley Wolverines will mark the fifth meeting in the all-time series that dates back to 2005. NDSU leads the series, 3-1-0. The last time the two teams met was during the 2010 season, with the Bison falling to the Wolverines on the road, 3-0.

#NDSUBison Notes

• North Dakota State enters the weekend at 0-8-0 after dropping matches at Northern Colorado and Colorado State Sept. 8 and 10.
• Through eight matches, junior Malley O'Brien has scored NDSU's lone goal and has seven shots and three shots on goal. Freshman Malana Vachon tallied the assist on O'Briens goal. Sophomore Mariah Haberle has 12 shots and four shots on goal, while freshman Danielle Algera has nine shots and six shots on goal.
• Junior goalkeeper Julia Edelstein is 0-5-0 and has allowed 16 goals between the posts while making a team-best 35 saves for a 2.71 goals-against average (GAA). 
• NDSU has a .418 shots on goal percentage while its adversaries have a .547 percentage.
• The Bison are only averaging 8.4 shots per game, compared to 17.1 per game for their opponents.
• The Bison were picked to finish tied for second with South Dakota State in The Summit League Women's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll. Denver was tabbed the preseason favorite by just one-point.
• 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 Utah Valley

• The Utah Valley University Wolverines enter the weekend at 3-5-0 overall after falling at Cal State Fullerton Sept. 10, 3-0.
• Utah Valley is scheduled to play at Washington State Thursday before traveling to Fargo to take on the Bison Sunday.
• Through eight matches, UVU is led by sophomore forward Breanna DeWaal with three goals, one assist, seven points, 40 shots and 21 shots on goal. Redshirt junior forward Breanna McCarter is second on the team in scoring with two goals while four other Wolverines have each netted on goal.
• Sophomore goalkeeper Brooklyn Nielsen has played and started in all eight matches for Utah Valley and has compiled a 3-5-0 record. She has given up 12 goals while making 19 saves for a 1.57 GAA.
• As a team, Utah Valley is averaging 1.13 goals per game while its opponents are scoring an average of 1.63 goals per game. The Wolverines are outshooting adversaries, on average, 16 to 12.
• UVU was picked to finish tied for fourth out of eight teams in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) preaseon coaches' poll.
• Utah Valley is under the leadership of first season head coach Chris Lemay.

Looking Back at 2016

• The Bison compiled a 10-8-1 overall record and won their second straight Summit League regular season title with a 5-2-1 league mark.
• Seven Bison were named All-Summit League. Sophomore Holly Enderle and senior Amy Yang were selected first team all-league, while seniors Natalie Fenske, Genna Joyce and Lizzie Lukas, and freshman Monica Polgar garnered second team all-league honors. Freshman Mariah Haberle was named to the all-freshmen team.
• Holly Enderle, Natalie Fenske and Amy Yang were voted to The Summit League Academic All-League Team.
• Natalie Fenske was voted to the CoSIDA Academic All-District 6 First Team for her performance in the classroom and on the pitch. Fenske was also named a Senior CLASS Award candidate.
• Holly Enderle led the Bison and ranked second in The Summit League with 10 goals and 22 points.
• Amy Yang and Mariah Haberle each dished out a team-best six assists.
• Monica Polgar led the league with six shutouts in goal and tallied a 9-8-0 record with a 1.27 goals-against average (GAA) and 57 saves.

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.

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.

On the Horizon
        The Bison host the University of Jamestown Saturday, Sept. 23, at 7 p.m. at Dacotah Field.