Scene Setter
    The North Dakota State Bison women's soccer team (5-3-1 overall, 0-0 Summit) continues its four-match road trip on Saturday, as the Bison head to Utah Valley (4-5-1 overall, 0-0 WAC). This will be the first match in the state of Utah for NDSU since playing at Utah on Aug. 27, 2017. The match will be the final non-conference match of the season for the Bison.

The Series with Utah Valley
    The Bison own a 4-1 lead in the all-time series against the Wolverines. The last meeting was a 2-0 NDSU win in Fargo on Sept. 17, 2017. The only Utah Valley victory in the series came in the last meeting in Orem, Utah, a 3-0 win by the Wolverines on Oct. 18, 2010. The series started with a 1-0 NDSU win in Fargo on Oct. 21, 2005.

Last Time Out
    Senior Elyse Huber scored four goals Friday night, as the North Dakota State soccer team beat Eastern Washington 4-2.
    Huber's four goals are tied for the most in Summit League history, while it is the second most goals scored in a match in NDSU history. Huber was the first person since 2003 to score four or more goals in a match for NDSU, with her total being the most in the NCAA Division I era for NDSU and the most against an NCAA Division I opponent. Huber also moved into a tie for sixth on the NDSU single-season game-winning goals list with four on the year. Huber is the ninth player in NCAA Division I women's soccer to score four or more goals in a match this season.
    The Bison moved to 5-3-1 on the season, while Eastern Washington dropped to 3-5-1. NDSU is now 13-2-1 under head coach Mike Regan when scoring first, while also improving to 5-0 under Regan when scoring three or more goals. 
    Huber started the scoring in the 33rd minute, as she dribbled up the left side and scored in the right corner to give NDSU a 1-0 lead at the break. The Eagles quickly evened the match as Sariah Keister scored off an assist from Saige Lyons in the 47th minute. Less than three minutes later, Huber gave the Bison the lead again by scoring off a deflected shot in the 50th minute.
    In the 57th minute, Brookelyn Dew found Huber on a diagonal run, as Huber scored in the bottom right corner from 26 yards out. It was the second career assist for Dew. In the 66th minute, Lyons once again found Keister, as the Eagles cut the lead to one. Huber sealed the victory with her final goal of the night in the 84th minute, taking an assist from Monica Polgar for the goal. It was the ninth goal of the season for Huber and the first career assist for Polgar. 
    Huber led the Bison with six shots, including five on goal. Danielle Algera and Mariah Haberle each added three shots. Polgar recorded seven saves in the net, as she moved into third in NDSU history with 269 career saves. Polgar improved to 5-3-1 in the net this year with her 31st career victory. 
    Eastern Washington had a 15-14 advantage in shots, while the two teams each had six in the second half. The Eagles had a 9-8 advantage in shots on goal. 

North Dakota State Notes

• NDSU picked up a 4-2 victory at Eastern Washington last week, with all four goals coming from senior Elyse 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.
• NDSU gave up a pair of goals in the final 11 minutes against Drake on Sept. 13, as the Bulldogs rallied for the 2-1 victory over NDSU.
• Ellie Schneider scored her second career goal, and the first off a penalty kick, in the loss at Drake.
• In the win over Chicago State on Sept. 8, Polgar became the fourth player in NDSU history to record 19 career shutouts, the top mark in school history. Polgar also has a pair of combined shutouts.
• Huber had her second match of the year with pair of goals against the Cougars in the 2-0 victory. Huber also scored two goals in a victory over Vermont earlier in the season.
• The Bison suffered their first loss of the season against Hawaii, dropping a 1-0 decision to the Rainbow Wahine on Sept. 6. 
• Senior Mariah Haberle scored the lone goal for the Bison in each of the first two matches of the year. Haberle now has 15 career goals. 

 
About Utah Valley

• The Wolverines are 4-5-1 on the season, as the match with North Dakota State will also be the final non-conference match of the season.
• Four players have combined to score 10 goals for Utah Valley this season, led by five goals from Julianna Carter. In three of the four Utah Valley victories, Carter has the game-winning goal.
• Amber Tripp and Jenna Shepherd each have a pair of assists for the Wolverines. Tripp has two goals as well, as she ranks second on the team with eight points.
• Allie Jara has spent the most time in the net for Utah Valley, as she holds a 4-3-1 record in 765:51. Jara has a 1.06 goals against average, while recording 33 shots.
• Carter ranks fourth in the nation in shot accuracy at .810, while ranking 50th in the country with a pair of game-winning goals.

25th Season of NDSU Soccer
The 2019 season marks the 25th season of soccer at NDSU. The Bison own a 245-180-29 (.572) all-time record, including a 128-43-7 (.739) mark in home matches. In six seasons at Dacotah Field, the Bison are 32-17-2 (.647). 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. 

Bison in the National Rankings
    Senior Elyse Huber ranks in the top five in the nation in three categories, while finding herself in the top 10 in two more. Huber ranks second in the country with four game-winning goals, third with 1.13 goals per game and fourth with nine total goals. She also ranks eighth with 2.25 points per game and eighth with 2.75 shots on goal per game. Senior Monica Polgar ranks sixth in the country with 62 saves on the season. Polgar also ranks 13th among all active NCAA Division I players with 269 career saves and 22nd with 4.8 saves per match.

Huber Earns Weekly Honors from Summit League, United Soccer Coaches
    Senior Elyse Huber has been named the United Soccer Coaches National Player of the Week and the Summit League Offensive Player of the Week. This is the second time this year Huber has been honored by the league, while it is also the second time she has earned the national award. Huber also earned the United Soccer Coaches award on Aug. 22, 2017 while she was at Nebraska.
    Huber made history last week, as the senior equaled a Summit League single-match record with four goals in a 4-2 win at Eastern Washington. Additionally, Huber became the first Bison to score four or more goals in a match since 2003. Her four goals were the most in the NCAA Division I era for NDSU and the most against an NCAA Division I opponent. 

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. 

Radio, TV Coverage Announced for NDSU Women's Soccer
    A pair of NDSU women's soccer matches will air live on the radio and one match will be televised live during the upcoming season. NDSU's regular season home opener against Saint Mary's Aug. 23 and the regular season home finale against North Dakota (Oct. 31) will air live on Bison 1660 AM. The home match against South Dakota on Oct. 6 will be televised live on MidcoSN with Alex Heinert calling the action.

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 opens Summit League play on Oct. 6 against South Dakota at Dacotah Field. The match is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. The Summit League opener will also be broadcast on MidcoSN.