Scene Setter
                For the first time in nearly a month, the North Dakota State women's soccer team returns to the Dacotah Field Bubble for a pair of matches with South Dakota State. The two teams will face each other on Friday, March 26 and Sunday, March 28. The match on Friday will start at 6 p.m., with Sunday's match scheduled for 1 p.m.
 
2021 Spring Season Attendance Policy
                For matches played in the Dacotah Field Bubble during the 2021 spring season, fans will not be allowed due to space limitations from the Covid-19 Pandemic.
 
The Series with South Dakota State
                South Dakota State owns a 12-11-3 advantage in the all-time series that dates to a 6-0 Bison win in Fargo on Oct. 15, 2000. The Bison own a 7-2 record against the Jackrabbits in Fargo, including a pair of shutouts in the last two trips to Fargo for South Dakota State. Over the 26 meetings, NDSU has a 32-31 advantage in goals scored.
 
North Dakota State Notes

• The Bison had a bye last week just past the midway point of the league schedule. NDSU will have two of the final three weekends at home to close the season.
• Two weeks ago, NDSU split a pair of matches in Grand Forks against North Dakota. The Bison won the opener 2-1 before dropping the finale 1-0.
• The Bison hit the road March 5 & 7 for the first time, dropping a pair of 1-0 and 3-0 matches against defending league champion Denver.
• For the second straight weekend, North Dakota State earned a weekend sweep with 3-2 and 2-0 wins over Omaha February 26 & 28.
• In the series opener, senior Marian Taiwo scored three goals, as the Bison won in overtime 3-2.
• The victory on Feb. 28 was the fifth-straight win for NDSU, the longest winning streak since winning six in a row in 2011.
• NDSU earned a weekend sweep of Western Illinois Feb. 19 & 21, pitching a shutout in both matches. This marks the first time since three-straight 2-0 victories during the 2017 season NDSU has posted three shutouts in a row. NDSU has a pair of school record five match shutout streaks in 1999 and 2011.

 
About South Dakota State

• The Jackrabbits are 6-0-4 on the year and the only Summit League team that hasn't lost a match.
• Allowing just three goals this season, the Jackrabbits rank 10th in the nation goals-against average at .284. South Dakota State ranks 17th in the country with a .700 shutout percentage.
• Eden Brooker has a pair of game-winning goals, ranking 44th in the nation and fourth in the Summit League
• Maya Hansen ranks 53rd in the country with five goals scored, while ranking 83rd with 11 total points.

 
NDSU in Season Openers
                With a 3-2 loss to Kansas City on Feb. 12, the Bison dropped to 16-10 all-time in season openers. Last year, the Bison beat St. Mary's 1-0 on August 23, winning the season opener for the second-straight year. The Bison are now 9-4-1 all-time in the Summit League opener.
 
Lovick Among Nation's Best
                Freshman Olivia Lovick is one of 29 freshman across the country that have scored four or more goals this season. Lovick is the only player among the 29 that scored four goals in the first four matches of their collegiate careers against NCAA schools.
 
25 Years of NDSU Soccer
                The 2019 season marked the 25th season of soccer at NDSU. In the first 25 years of NDSU soccer, the Bison owned a 248-184-31 (.569) all-time record, including a 131-43-8 (.742) mark in home matches. In six seasons at Dacotah Field, the Bison are 35-17-3 (.664). 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 18 of the 25 seasons played.
 
NDSU Picked Seventh in Summit League Preseason Poll
                The North Dakota State women's soccer team is picked to finish seventh in the Summit League Women's Soccer Preseason Poll, announced Tuesday, Jan. 26 by the league office.
                NDSU finished fifth in the standings last season, missing the conference tournament for the first time in 10 years. The Bison received 25 points in the poll, sitting three points ahead of Omaha and four points behind North Dakota. Defending league champion Denver was picked to repeat with seven first place votes and 63 points, while South Dakota State was picked second with 58 points and the remaining two first place votes. Oral Roberts (45 points), South Dakota (41) and Kansas City (32) rounded out the top five.
                The top four regular-season finishers will qualify for The Summit League Women's Soccer Championship, which will be played in Omaha April 15-17.
 
Last Time Out
                North Dakota scored a goal in the first 10 minutes of the match March 14, as the Fighting Hawks held on for a 1-0 win over the North Dakota State soccer team. The loss dropped the Bison to 6-4 on the year, while the Fighting Hawks improved to 3-3.
                Off an assist from Cassie Giddings and Hannah Olson, Mara Yapello scored the only goal of the match in the ninth minute.
                The Bison had a 9-4 advantage in shots, while each team had two shots on goal. Olivia Lovick had four shots for the Bison, while Lavin Douglass had both shots on goal. Aly Cole dropped to 4-2 in the net, as she recorded a save.
 
Last Time Against South Dakota State
                Summit League leading South Dakota State scored a goal early in the second half Oct. 24, 2019, as the Jackrabbits beat the North Dakota State soccer team 1-0 at Fishback Soccer Park.
                The Bison dropped to 7-6-3 overall and 2-2-2 in Summit League play with the loss. South Dakota State improved to 14-3 overall and 6-0 in league play, with all 14 victories being shutouts.
                With an assist from Marisa Schulz, Leah Manuleleua scored her 10th goal of the season in the 58th minute to give the Jacks a 1-0 lead. It was the 12th-straight win for SDSU, with all 12 coming via shutout. With both teams finishing with just four shots on goal apiece, it was the only goal of the match.
                Elyse Huber led the Bison with four shots, including two on goal. Paige Goaley, McKenna Strand and Lavin Douglass each added a shot for the Bison, as the Jacks finished with a 20-7 advantage in shots. Monica Polgar recorded three saves in 90 minutes in the net.
                Polgar moved into a tie for seventh in school history with 94 saves this season. Polgar also surpassed 300 career saves, becoming the third player in school history to hit the mark. Huber moved into eighth in school history with 69 shots this season.
 
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 2019-20 academic year.
                The Bison posted a 3.63 team GPA for 2019-20, extending an impressive run of earning the Team Academic Award for the 18th time in the past 19 years. The 2019-20 school year was the 20th 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.
 
Strand, Douglass Named to Summit League "Players to Watch" List
                Bison sophomores McKenna Strand and Lavin Douglass were named to the "Players to Watch" list by the league coaches. Both players were selected to the Summit League All-Freshman Team last season. Strand appeared in 17 matches, including seven starts. Douglass started 16 of the 18 matches she played in, while scoring a goal against South Dakota.
 
Head Coach Mike Regan
                Mike Regan begins his third 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
                The Bison hit the road for the final regular season road trip of the season next week against South Dakota. The two teams will face each other on Thursday, April 1 at 6 p.m., followed by a 1 p.m. start on Saturday, April 3. Both matches will be played at First Bank & Trust Soccer Complex in Vermillion.