FARGO, N.D. - The North Dakota State soccer team will hit the road for the first of two games away from Dacotah Field to wrap up non-conference play, beginning with a trip to Omaha, Nebraska to take on Creighton on Thursday, September 9. Kickoff in the sixth meeting between the Bison and the Bluejays is set for 7 p.m. at Morrison Stadium.
 
Bison Secure First Result of the Season
NDSU snapped a four-game losing skid to begin the season last Thursday, with a 1-1 draw in a back-and-forth battle with previously perfect Wyoming, who entered 3-0-0 on the season. Both teams had chances, with the Bison taking a lead midway through the second half, before the Cowgirls answered with an equalizer a few minutes later.
 
Watson Smashes First Career Goal
Freshman Olivia Watson has completed a lot of firsts as an athlete growing up in the Fargo/Moorhead metro and she added another to her list last Thursday with her first collegiate goal. The forward jumped on a deflected cross and smashed the ball into the top corner with her first touch to score her first goal as a Bison.
 
Watson scored 83 career goals, along with 35 assists, in her prep career at Moorhead High. She set the Minnesota state record with 11 goals scored in one match. The all-around athlete also captained her high school ski team while qualifying for the state ski meet, qualified for the track and field state championships, and became the first female in Moorhead history to kick a field goal in a football game.
 
Howe Sets New Career High Against Wyoming
Goalkeeper Sofia Howe made her second start of the year against Wyoming last Thursday and the junior was a key part of securing a 1-1 draw for the Bison. The Chula Vista, California native made a career high nine saves and allowed just one goal off of a rebound, despite wet and heavy rain conditions throughout the game. Her previous career high in saves was six in a 3-1 win over Oral Roberts last season.
 
Algera Climbing Charts
Senior Danielle Algera is the active leader for the Bison in games played (73) and games started (66). The Winnipeg native is on pace to crack the top 10 (78) for the Bison in games played in mid-November. She is also six starts from the top 10 (72). Algera could climb to second in both categories. She is also the active leader in minutes played with 5,743.
 
Schneider Playing Every Minute for Bison
Earlier this season against Pacific, Ellie Schneider surpassed 3,000 career minutes as a Bison, one of just three active players on the list to do so (Algera and Brookelyn Dew). The senior is the only player for the Bison to play all 470 minutes this season.
 
Douglass Has Scored In All Three Seasons For Bison
Lavin Douglass, who picked up the first goal of the season for the Bison against Pacific with a highlight reel volley from outside the penalty area, has now scored in each of her three seasons with the Bison. Douglass had scored a goal at home and on the road. With her goal in Idaho earlier this season, Douglass checked off a neutral venue goal as well.
 
Bison Have Recent History of Overcoming Slow Start
The Bison started the season 0-4. NDSU has started a season 0-4 one other time in the NCAA DI era, going 0-8 with just one goal in 2017. However, despite the slow start, the Bison finished  2017 with a second-place finish in the Summit League during the regular season, and also finished as the runner-up in the conference tournament.
 
About Creighton
Creighton enters Thursday's matchup at 4-1-1 on the season, including an undefeated stretch against Summit League opposition in the last three outings. The Bluejays picked up a 3-0 win over previously undefeated South Dakota State on Sunday. They also played out to a 0-0 tie against South Dakota last Thursday. Prior to that, Creighton had a 3-0 win at Oral Roberts. They have also defeated Montana and Drake, with their only loss coming at Tulsa.
 
The Bluejays are led offensively by Abigail Santana, as the sophomore has four goals on the season, including a pair against South Dakota State last time out. Junior Jordy Rothwell is the only other player with multiple goals, scoring both of her goals this season at Oral Roberts. Senior midfielder Ansley Atkinson has six assists on the year, with five coming in the last three games. At the back, goalkeeper Keelan Terrell has played every minute. She has four shutouts on the year and enters the matchup with NDSU having not allowed a goal in the last 293 minutes.
 
The Series with Creighton
Thursday's game will be the seventh all-time meeting between the two programs, but the first in over a decade. Creighton leads the series 3-2-1, but the Bison secured a 2-2 tie in the last meeting, which came in Omaha on September 7, 2010. NDSU is 0-3-1 against Creighton in Omaha. Four of the six meetings have been decided by a goal or less.
 
Teddy Bears, Sudoku and Bison Victories
The Bison have had great success on September 9th, also known as National Teddy Bear Day and International Sudoku Day. NDSU has played 10 times on the ninth day of the ninth month, beginning in the program's first season in 1995. NDSU soccer is 7-3, including a 5-1 record in the Division I era.
 
Renee Keller recorded the fourth most saves in a game for the Bison on Sept. 9, 1995, as she stopped 14 shots against St. Scholastica. The Bison also recorded the third-most shots in school history on Sept. 9, 2001, as the Bison fired 48 shots toward goal against Minnesota-Crookston in a 5-0 victory for the Yellow and Green. It is the biggest victory for the Bison on the date.
 
The Bison have played in Omaha once before on Sept. 9, 2005, recording a 1-0 victory in overtime against Drake at the Creighton hosted Bluejay Classic. Overall, the Bison are 3-0 away from home on Sept. 9 in the Division I era.
 
Sangillo Quickly Growing Into Role
Freshman Gabby Sangillo has progressively become more involved in action for the Bison. The Goodyear, Arizona native came off the bench for 27 minutes in the opener against Idaho. Following 50 minutes against Baylor, which included one of the best scoring chances for the Bison in the game, Sangillo has moved to the starting lineup for the last three games. She played 57 minutes in her first start against Pacific, before 76 minutes against Dixie State and 60 against Wyoming.
 
Grandbois Getting Opportunity, Taking Shots
Freshman Bella Grandbois has started two of the last three games for the Bison and has been creating opportunities offensively. The New Hope, Minnesota native has forced tough saves in her last three games. Grandbois has seven shots on the season, which leads the team.
 
The Future is Now
The Bison welcomed seven newcomers this fall, which included six true freshmen. Six of those newcomers have already made appearances this season. Transfer Payton Jo Armijo has started every game, while freshmen Katie Pagel, Bella Grandbois, Gabby Sangillo and Olivia Watson all made debuts as substitutes in the season opener against Idaho.
 
Freshman Josie Fieldman made her first appearance against Baylor. Fieldman, Grandbois and Sangillo all made their first starts for the Bison against Pacific. Pagel made her first start for NDSU against Dixie State.
 
Experienced Returners
North Dakota State began the 2021 season by bringing back a wealth of experience, with 174 of the 176 starts in the spring returning. The Bison returned 17 of 20 goals from last season, including four freshman goal scorers (Olivia Lovick, Jess Hanley, Kelsey Kallio and Aliya Owens) that combined for half of the Bison's 20 goals during the Spring 2021 season.
 
Freshman also combined for 15 of NDSU's 24 assists. In total, NDSU returns 17 of 20 goals and 23 of 24 assists from last season. Seniors Ellie Schneider, Brookelyn Dew and Danielle Algera all had two goals last season and combined for six assists.
 
Picked Fifth in Summit League
North Dakota State was picked fifth in the Summit League preseason coaches' poll. The Bison received 44 points in the vote, slotting them into the same position they closed the 2020-21 season conducted this past spring.
 
The Bison are coming off of a 7-8-1 campaign in the Summit League in the spring, which featured season sweeps of Omaha and Western Illinois, as well as wins against Kansas City, North Dakota and Oral Roberts.
 
Lovick, Schneider named Summit League Players to Watch
Olivia Lovick and Ellie Schneider were tabbed as players to watch in the Summit League. Lovick was named to the 2020 Summit League All-Newcomer team after leading the Bison with 14 points and six goals as a freshman.
 
Schneider played a team-best 1,260 minutes last season, recording two game-winning goals. The senior started all 16 matches and was third on the team with seven points this spring.
 
Schneider Named to CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team
Defender Ellie Schneider was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team in June, following her performance in the classroom and on the pitch this spring. Schneider is the first Bison since 2011 to be selected to the team. Starting all 16 games for the Bison during the spring season, Schneider was third on the team with seven points. She recorded two goals and three assists. Schneider scored the game-winning goals against Western Illinois (Feb. 19) and Omaha (Feb. 28) and has a 3.96 GPA in Biological Science.
 
Head Coach Mike Regan
Mike Regan is in his fourth season as the head coach of the Bison. NDSU has had five All-Summit League selections in Regan's first three years, including four first team selections. NDSU has also had four All-Summit League Freshman Team/All-Newcomer Team selections and two Summit League All-Tournament Team picks. In 2019, Monica Polgar was named to the United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-Region Team and was picked for the Summit League All-Academic Team.
 
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.
 
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.
 
On the Horizon
The Bison will head east to Wisconsin to wrap up non-conference play next week, as NDSU travels to Milwaukee to take on Marquette on Friday, September 17. Kickoff in the first-ever meeting between North Dakota State and the Golden Eagles is set for 7 p.m. at Valley Fields. The contest will be the last match for the Bison before a two-week break leading into Summit League play.