Scene Setter
    The North Dakota State Bison women's soccer team (7-5-3 overall, 2-1-2 Summit) hits the road on Thursday to face Summit League leading South Dakota State (13-3, 5-0 Summit). The match is scheduled for a 6 p.m. kickoff at Fishback Soccer Park in Brookings, S.D.

The Series with South Dakota State
    The all-time series between the Jackrabbits and Bison is even at 11-11-3, dating back to a 6-0 NDSU victory in Fargo on Oct. 15, 2000. During the NCAA Division I era, the Jacks hold a 10-9-3 advantage in the series. The Bison have won the last two meetings, but are looking for their first win in Brookings since a 1-0 win on Oct. 4, 2006. 

Last Time Out
    The North Dakota State soccer team scored a pair of goals in the second half Sunday, as the Bison beat Western Illinois 2-1 at Dacotah Field.
    NDSU moved to 7-5-3 overall and 2-1-2 in the Summit League with the victory, while Western Illinois dropped to 6-9-1 overall and 2-4 in league play. 
    Amy Andrews started the scoring for the Leathernecks, as she recorded her sixth goal of the season off an assist from Zoe Clarke in the 32nd minute. Early in the second half, Laura Powell scored her first goal of the season, and second of her career, in the 48th minute off an assist from Elyse Huber. It was the second assist of the season for Huber, the leader scorer for the Bison. In the 63rd minute, Brookelyn Dew found Danielle Algera for her first goal of the season, and second of her career, to give the Bison the victory. It was the third career assist for Dew and the second of the season for the junior.
    Huber led the Bison with five shots, while Paige Goaley added three. Powell and Algera each had a pair of shots, while Goaley and Algera led the Bison with two shots on goal apiece. Monica Polgar recorded six saves in 90 minutes in the net.
    Polgar moved into eighth place on the single-season saves list with her 91st of the season. Huber moved into a tie for seventh in school history with her 34th shot on goal this season.
    The Leathernecks and Bison each had 16 shots, while each team had seven shots on goal.

25th Season of NDSU Soccer
The 2019 season marks the 25th season of soccer at NDSU. The Bison own a 247-182-31 (.571) all-time record, including a 130-43-8 (.740) mark in home matches. In six seasons at Dacotah Field, the Bison are 34-17-3 (.657). Pete Cuadrado is the all-time leader in wins with 93 in nine seasons as head coach from 2003-11. The Bison have had a winning record in 17 of the 24 seasons played.     

North Dakota State Notes

• The Bison scored two goals in the second half from Laura Powell and Danielle Algera for the 2-1 win over Western Illinois on Sunday. It was the first victory under Mike Regan in which the Bison trailed at halftime.
• NDSU and Purdue Fort Wayne finished in a double overtime scoreless tie on Friday night. It was the first scoreless tie for the Bison since facing Denver on Oct. 14, 2016.
• With the tie at Oral Roberts before the Purdue Fort Wayne tie, it was the first time NDSU has had back-to-back draws since facing Omaha (T, 1-1) and South Dakota (2-2) on Oct. 10 and 12, 2014.
• The three draws this season for the Bison are the second most in school history.
• NDSU used a goal late in the first half by Nicky De Pape to even the score with Oral Roberts on Sunday en route to a 1-1 tie. The goal by De Pape came on her first career shot attempt.
• The Bison dropped a 1-0 match at Omaha last week, giving up an early goal. It was the seventh match decided by one goal this year for NDSU. The Bison are 3-4 in those matches.
• For the fifth-straight year, NDSU opened Summit League play with a victory against South Dakota (2-1). 
• Freshman Lavin Douglass recorded her first goal of the season, while senior Mariah Haberle had the game-winner. It was the 16th career goal for Haberle and her sixth career game-winner.
• The Bison closed the non-conference season by dropping a 3-2 match at Utah Valley.
• Junior Brookelyn Dew and senior Elyse Huber tallied the two goals for the Bison against Utah Valley.
• NDSU picked up a 4-2 victory at Eastern Washington, with all four goals coming from Huber. Both Eastern Washington goals came from Sariah Keister.
• The four goals by Huber were the most against an NCAA Division I opponent in school history and the most by a Bison player since NDSU became an NCAA Division I school.
• In the loss at Northern Iowa, the Panthers scored their three goals in the first 27 minutes of the match.
• Senior keeper Monica Polgar successfully defended a penalty kick against Northern Iowa, marking the third-straight match she stopped an opponent's penalty kick attempt.

 
About South Dakota State

• The Jackrabbits are 13-3 overall and 5-0 in the Summit League. All 13 victories have come via the shutout.
• SDSU has posted 11-straight victories and hasn't allowed a goal over the last 1,019:45, dating back to a 1-0 loss at Drake on Sept. 6.
• Maggie Smither has allowed just four goals in the net this season, as she has a 12-3 record with 75 saves.
• Leah Manuleleua is the leading scorer for the Jacks with nine goals and 21 points.

Bison in the National Rankings
    NDSU ranks 27th in the nation in saves per game at 6.27, while ranking 20th in the country with a .855 save percentage. Senior Elyse Huber ranks 20th in the country with four game-winning goals, while also ranking 23rd with .71 goals per game. With 1.57 points per game, Huber ranks 35th in the nation. Huber is 12th in the country with 4.64 shots per game and seventh with 2.43 shots on goal per game. Her 10 goals on the season rank 28th in the country, while ranking 43rd with 22 total points. Senior Monica Polgar ranks 10th in the country with 91 saves, while ranking 24th with 6.07 saves per game. Her .850 save percentage ranks 29th in the nation.

Bison Women's Soccer Earns United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Award
    The North Dakota State University women's soccer team earned the United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Award for exemplary performance in the classroom during the 2018-19 academic year. 
    The Bison posted a 3.655 team GPA for 2018-19, extending an impressive run of earning the Team Academic Award for the 17th time in the past 18 years. The 3.655 team GPA for the year was the highest in school history. The 2018-19 school year was the 19th time the Bison have won the award since it was introduced in 1996.
    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. 

Huber Named Summit League Female Athlete of the Month
    Senior Elyse Huber has been named the Summit League Female Athlete of the Month for August and September. Huber helped lead the Bison to a 5-4-1 record through August and September entering league action. She tied the Summit League record with four goals in a win over Eastern Washington. That accomplishment earned her both the Summit League Player of the Week and the United Soccer Coaches National Player of the Week. The Sioux City, Iowa native ranks fifth in the nation with 10 goals, third in the country with four game-winning goals, fourth in the nation with 1.11 goals per match and fourth in the country with 2.89 shots on goal per game. 

Haberle Named to Summit League "Players to Watch" List
    Bison senior Mariah Haberle was named to the "Players to Watch" section by the league coaches. Haberle, an All-Summit League First Team selection last season, started all 16 matches with seven goals and two assists on the season. Haberle had four game-winning goals for NDSU last year.

NDSU Soccer Picked Third in Summit League Preseason Poll 
    The North Dakota State women's soccer team was picked to finish third in the 2019 Summit League Women's Soccer Preseason Poll, announced Monday, Aug. 12 by the league office.
    After finishing third in the 2018 standings, the Bison received 41 points and are picked to finish in the same spot. With 63 and 57 points respectively, 2018 Summit League co-champions Denver and South Dakota State are picked for the top two spots in 2019. Denver received seven first place votes, while the Jackrabbits received the other two.
The top four regular-season finishers will qualify for The Summit League Women's Soccer Championship, which will be hosted by reigning regular-season co-champion SDSU in Brookings, S.D., Nov. 7 and 9. 

Head Coach Mike Regan
    Mike Regan begins his second season at the head coach of the Bison. An assistant coach for teams in the Missouri Valley and Big Ten Conferences over the previous six seasons before coming to NDSU, Regan was named head women's soccer coach at North Dakota State on Jan. 19, 2018.
    Regan came to NDSU after two seasons as a Big Ten assistant coach at Indiana University in Bloomington. Prior to Indiana, he was an assistant coach at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, for four seasons where he was part of the 2015 Missouri Valley Conference championship team and the 2015 MVC Coaching Staff of the Year. Drake made four consecutive MVC tournament appearances.
    Before joining Drake, Regan was the head coach for the North Iowa Area Community College men's soccer team for five seasons, where he posted an impressive record of 74-17-6 and was named the NJCAA/ICCAC Men's Soccer Coach of the Year three times.
    Regan also has extensive coaching experience at the youth level. He is currently a staff coach with the U.S. Youth Soccer Region II Girls Olympic Development Program and served as the head coach of the Iowa ODP '98 age group for three years. Regan holds a National 'A' Coaching License from the United States Soccer Federation.
    Regan earned a bachelor's degree from Waldorf College in 2009 and a master's degree from California University of Pennsylvania in 2011.

On the Horizon
    NDSU will return home for the final home match of the year on Oct. 31 against North Dakota. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at Dacotah Field. The Bison close the regular season on Nov. 3 at Denver, with kickoff set for 1 p.m. (central) in the Mile High City.