Women's Soccer | 10/31/2018 2:03:00 PM

Scene Setter
    The North Dakota State Bison women's soccer team (9-6 overall, 6-2 Summit) travels to Brookings, S.D. for the 2018 Summit League Women's Soccer Championship. The Bison will face Denver (11-5-2 overall, 7-1 Summit) in the semifinals. The match is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 1 at Fishback Soccer Park.

The Series with Denver
    NDSU is 1-6-1 all-time against the Pioneers, with Denver winning the last three meetings.
NDSU's lone victory in the series was a 4-3 double-overtime victory at Denver on Oct. 9, 2015. NDSU is 0-2 against the Pioneers in The Summit League Championship, with the two teams meeting in the championship match during the 2013 and 2017 tournaments.
 
NDSU in The Summit League Tournament
    The Bison are 5-8-1 all-time in The Summit League Tournament. NDSU has made the tournament 10-straight times, the longest active streak in the league. The Bison are 1-2-1 when playing in the 6 p.m. time slot, while they are 4-4-1 at Fishback Soccer Park in Brookings, S.D. during tournament play. NDSU has a 1-3 record when playing as the number three seed in the tournament, while they are also 1-3 when playing against the number two seed in the tournament. This will be the seventh tournament game NDSU has played at Fishback Soccer Park, where they hold a 2-3-1 record in the previous six matches. The Bison have gone to overtime three times in tournament history, holding a 1-1-1 record. Two of those have gone to double overtime, where NDSU is 1-0-1.

North Dakota State Notes
-The Bison beat South Dakota 1-0 on Oct. 26 to close the regular season. NDSU improved to 12-2-1 all-time against the Coyotes with the shutout.
NDSU has played in four-straight 1-0 matches for the first time since the 2014 season. The Bison are 3-1 in those matches during the span, while they were 3-1 during the same span in 2014.
-The Bison have played in six-straight one goal matches. It is the longest streak of matches decided by one goal that NDSU has played in since playing in 10-straight matches decided by a goal during the 2015 season. NDSU was 8-2 during the stretch in 2015, while they are 4-2 during the current span. 
-The victory over South Dakota was the fourth shutout of the season for NDSU.
-Monica Polgar picked up her ninth win in the net against South Dakota, as she finished with four saves. Polgar became the fourth player in NDSU history with 200 or more career saves. She also moved into a tie for ninth in school history with her ninth win of the season.
-NDSU pitched a 1-0 overtime shutout against Oral Roberts on Oct. 19 at Dacotah Field. It was the sixth time in the last seven matches between NDSU and Oral Roberts that there was a shutout. NDSU had wins in five of those six shutouts.
-The Bison recorded 24 shots in the win over Oral Roberts and 20 in a loss to Omaha on Oct. 21. NDSU has hit double-digit shot attempts in 10-straight matches. The 24 shots against Oral Roberts were the most since having 25 in the season-opener at Green Bay.
-Mariah Haberle's 11 shots against Oral Roberts are tied for the fourth most in a single match in school history.
-NDSU posted back-to-back 1-0 wins for the first time since beating Omaha and Oral Roberts on Oct. 2 and 4, 2015.
-Mariah Haberle moved into sixth in school history with 72 shots on the season.
-Roxy Roemer ranks 14th in the nation with .53 assists per match, while also ranking 26th with eight total assists.
-Mariah Haberle ranks 11th in the nation with 4.8 shots per game, while also ranking 12th with 2.4 shots on goal per game.
-Bison junior Monica Polgar earned The Summit League Women's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week honors for her performance against SDSU, where she notched four saves. It was her first honor of the season and the fifth time in her career she has earned the award.
-The Bison scored a pair of goals in a span of less than three minutes in the second half at North Dakota on Oct. 7, earning a 2-1 victory. Trailing 1-0, NDSU netted two goals in 2 minutes and 30 seconds to surge into the lead. Bison senior Hanna Norman beat UND keeper Olivia Swenson in the 76th minute, and senior Malley O'Brien scored for NDSU in the 78th minute.
-NDSU's five goals at Purdue Fort Wayne on Sept. 30 were its most in a Summit League match since a 5-0 victory over the Mastodons on Oct. 23, 2016.
-NDSU senior defender Hanna Norman was named The Summit League's Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 1. Norman scored two goals, including the game-winner at Western Illinois, as the Bison allowed only one goal in 194 minutes of action.
-Junior Mariah Haberle leads the Bison in points (16), goals (7), shots (72) and shots on goal (36). 
-The Bison welcomed back 10 starters from last season, including three all-league honorees in Malley O'Brien (first team), Hanna Norman (second team) and Danielle Algera (freshmen team). Goalkeeper Monica Polgar, who ranked second in The Summit League with six shutouts, also returns as a starter. 
 
About Denver
-The Pioneers closed out the regular season on a four-match winning streak to lock up a share of the 2018 Summit League regular season title with South Dakota State, defeating Oral Roberts 3-0 on Saturday afternoon at the University of Denver Soccer Stadium.
-Denver earned the No. 2 seed in this week's Summit League Women's Soccer Championship, losing the head-to-head tiebreaker against SDSU.
-The Pioneers picked up a 3-2 overtime win over North Dakota State earlier this season. The Bison led 2-0 at halftime before giving up a pair of second half goals, including the equalizer with :31 remaining in regulation. 
-16 of Denver's goals this year have come from freshmen, including eight from Samantha Feller.
-With a season still left in her collegiate career, junior captain and goalkeeper Brittany Wilson is fifth in Denver's Division I history in career saves with 183. 

On the Horizon
    A victory on Thursday would advance the Bison to The Summit League Tournament Championship match for the sixth time in school history.