FARGO, N.D. - The North Dakota State soccer team will open up the Summit league Championships on Friday afternoon in Denver, Colorado, taking on Oral Roberts in an opening round game at the University of Denver Soccer Stadium. The No. 5 seeded Bison will face the No.4 seeded Golden Eagles with a spot in the semifinal against No. 1 seed Denver up for grabs. Kickoff is slated for 5 p.m. CT/4 p.m. MT.
 
Game Coverage
Friday's game will be streamed live online for free on The Summit League Digital Network. The game will also have live statistics. Links for coverage will be available on GoBison.com.
 
Postseason Return
The Bison will be making their first postseason appearance since the 2018 season, when the Bison fell to Denver in the Summit League Championships Semifinal against Denver in Brookings, South Dakota.
 
Bison in the Summit League Championships
North Dakota State is 5-9-1 all-time in the Summit League Championships dating back to their first appearance in 2009. The Bison advanced in their only penalty shootout appearance, defeating SDSU 4-3 on PKs en route to a Summit League Championship title in the 2010 season.
 
Picked Ninth in Summit League, Finish Tied for Fourth
North Dakota State was picked ninth in the Summit League preseason coaches' poll. The Bison received 17 points in the vote, slotting them one spot below where they finished the 2021 season. However, the Bison posted four wins in Summit League play during the 2022 season and finished in a tie for fourth overall, level on 12 points with Oral Roberts.
 
New Postseason Format
The 2022 season saw a new format for overtime. For the regular season, overtime was eliminated, meaning if a game was tied after the regulation 90 minutes, it ended in a tie. Previously, teams played two 10-minute overtime periods in a sudden-victory (golden goal) format, and if neither team scored, the game ended in a tie. In conference tournaments and NCAA postseason games beginning this postseason, the sudden-victory component has been eliminated, and teams will play two 10-minute overtime periods. If the game remains tied, a penalty-kick shootout will be held to determine the winner.
 
NDSU in Neutral-Site Games in the Summit League Championships
Friday's game will be the tenth neutral-site game for the Bison competing in the Summit League Championships, with NDSU holding a 4-5-0 record all-time. It will be the second time the Bison have played a neutral-site game in Denver, with a 2-1 loss to SDSU in 2014 in the only other occasion.
 
Bison Postseason Honors
Three Bison earned postseason recognition in the Summit League Women's Soccer All-League Awards Announced Thursday morning. Junior Paige Goaley headlined the honors for NDSU, as she was named to the All-Summit League Second Team. Junior goalkeeper Abby Wilkinson earned All-Summit League Honorable Mention honors, while junior transfer Elana Webber was named to the All-Summit League Newcomer Team.
 
The Series
Friday's match up will be the 16th meeting between North Dakota State and Oral Roberts and the second this season, but also just the second all-time meeting in the postseason. The Bison hold a 10-3-3 record in the all-time series, but the Golden Eagles snapped a Bison six-game unbeaten run (4-0-2) earlier this season with a 2-0 win over NDSU in Tulsa. The only other meeting in the postseason between the two teams came in 2016, when Oral Roberts upset the Bison 2-0 in the semifinals in Fargo.
 
Last Meeting
Oral Roberts picked up a 2-0 victory over NDSU in early October in Tulsa. The Golden Eagles scored from the penalty spot in the 10th minute on a goal from Abril Lucio to take the lead. NDSU would have a goal from Alicia Nead called back for offsides. Then Jess Hanley would have a free kick that went off the crossbar. However, the hosts would capitalize immediately off the ball off the crossbar on a counter attack, as Alex Machado scored on the break to double ORU's lead.
 
On The Day
The Bison will play their sixth game in program history on October 28, carrying a nearly flawless record into the match up with Oral Roberts. NDSU is 5-0 with four shutouts and a 2-1 win in the previous five matches, with the most recent game on the day coming in a 1-0 win in 2012 at Omaha.
 
Scoring Four
With NDSU's 4-1 win over South Dakota, the Bison have hit four goals three time this season. It is the first time the Bison have hit four goals on three different occasions in the Mike Regan era and the most in a season since 2016, when the Bison did it four times.
 
Iron Woman
Junior defender Ashleigh Heely wrapped up the regular season having played all 1710 minutes of the year at the heart of the Bison defense. Heely has helped guide the Bison to seven cleansheets this season, after moving back from the midfield last year. NDSU had just one cleansheet in 2021.
 
That Goaley Scores
Paige Goaley, who missed two seasons with a leg injury, has been a goal-scoring threat, sharing the team lead with six goals. She jumped straight into the action, scoring 37 seconds into her official return against Tarleton. Goaley has added four goals in the last month, jumping toward the top of the Summit League in goals (4) and points (10) in league play.
 
Lovick Hits Scoresheet in Return to Starting Lineup
Olivia Lovick made a return to the starting lineup at North Dakota and made the most of the opportunity, setting up the opening goal before earning a penalty and then tucking it away for her third goal of the season. She then added a goal against South Dakota last week. Lovick now has 12 career goals and 29 points, both leading the active list at NDSU.
 
Wilkinson Grabs Second Peak Performer Award, Moves Up NDSU All-Time Lists
For the second time this season, Abby Wilkinson was named the Summit League's Defensive Peak Performer after she made eight saves in a cleansheet victory at North Dakota. With the shutout, Wilkinson moved into ninth on the all-time cleansheet list at NDSU with five. Wilson's eight saves also moved her past Renee Keller (77) on the all-time saves list. After last week, she now sits at 97 career saves, just three behind Karli Kopietz (100) for eighth on the list.
 
Constants in the Lineup
Senior Lavin Douglass and juniors Ashleigh Heely and Paige Goaley have started every game (19) for the Bison this season. Douglass and Heely have started the last 24 games overall, dating back to last season.
 
Experience on Backline
The Bison have produced seven cleansheets this season, with experience on the backline providing dividends in front of goal. The four main players on the backline (McKenna Strand, Kaitlyn Hanson, Ashleigh Heely, and Jess Hanley) have combined to play in 202 games with 151 starts and 13,362 minutes, with all over 3,000 career minutes.
 
Douglass Strikes Another
Lavin Douglass has scored three times this season, equaling her tally from her first three years in Fargo. The winger's first two goals came in the final 10 minutes to put NDSU in front for good, serving as game winners. Douglass capped a senior day victory over Drake with her first career game-winning goal in the 80th minute. At Kansas City, she won the ball in midfield and made a solo run before bending a shot into the top corner in the 84th minute. Last week against South Dakota, Douglass scored the opening goal of the game in an eventual 4-1 win.
 
Watson's Goals Leading to Wins
Olivia Watson has more than doubled her goal total from her freshman season, scoring six goals in 2022 after two as a freshman. The sophomore's goals this year have carried more weight, with four being the first goal of the game and four going on to serve as game winners. Watson's game winners have come against Utah Tech, Green Bay, Western Illinois and South Dakota. Against South Dakota, the Moorhead native scored her first collegiate two-goal game.
 
Kallio Records Second Double Assist Game, Hits 10 for Career
Kelsey Kallio picked up two assists in the 4-1 win over South Dakota on Friday. It is the second time this season that the junior has recorded two in a game, also doing it in the 4-1 win over Chicago State. With her second assist setting up Olivia Watson's final goal, Kallio hit 10 career assists. She is also the active leader in assists for the Bison and is tied for second on the active points list (18).
 
Four in a Half
NDSU's four goals in the second half against Western Illinois are the most goals in a half for the Bison since the 2016 season when they did it twice. The last time the Bison had four goals in a half against a Div. 1 opponent came against North Dakota in the first half on September 2, 2016, going on to win 4-1 in Grand Forks.
 
Cleansheets Piling Up
The Bison have scooped up seven cleansheets this season, including three in a row in September. NDSU had five cleansheets in the last two seasons. Seven cleansheets is a new season high in the Mike Regan era, breaking six in 2019.
 
Peak Performers of the Week
Abby Wilkinson and Ashleigh Heely have scooped up Summit League Peak Performer honors this season. Wilkinson has received the honor twice, after a career high 10 saves at Idaho and after an eight-save shutout at North Dakota. Heely picked up the honor after playing all 180 minutes on the back line in 1-0 shutout victories against Green Bay and Drake.
 
The Bison at Home
NDSU has a 47-27-5 record at Dacotah Field since moving from the Ellig Sports Complex at the start of the 2013 season. Heading into 2022, the Bison have had a .500 or better winning percentage at home in seven of the nine seasons and they added another tally to that list this year, going 4-2-0 at Dacotah Field.
 
Goaley Strikes NDSU's Fastest Goal
Paige Goaley scored 37 seconds into the opener against Tarleton, the fastest goal in NDSU's program history. The goal broke the previous record of 39 seconds held by Lisa Leach, set on October 18, 1997 at Minnesota State-Mankato. The Div. 1 era record was 52 seconds into a match by Britney Monteon against Fort Wayne on October 22, 2017.
 
NDSU Receives United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Award
The Bison earned the United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Award over the summer, being recognized for their exemplary performance in the classroom during the 2021-22 academic year. To qualify for the award, a team must have a minimum GPA of 3.0 or higher for the entire academic year. The Bison posted a 3.43 team GPA for 2021-22.
 
Team Captains
Senior Dani Stuber and junior Paige Goaley serve as the team captains. Stuber is in her fifth season with the Bison, while Goaley is in her fourth year. Both players are making their full returns in 2022 after missing considerable time with injuries.
 
Head Coach Mike Regan
Mike Regan is in his fifth season as the helm of the Bison. Under Regan, NDSU has five All-Summit League selections, including four first team, as well as four Freshman Team/All-Newcomer Team selections and two All-Tournament picks.
 
Regan came to NDSU after two years as an assistant at Indiana. Prior to IU, he was an assistant at Drake for four seasons, where he was part of the 2015 Missouri Valley Conference championship team and MVC Coaching Staff of the Year.
 
Before Drake, Regan was the head coach for the North Iowa Area Community College men's team for five seasons, posting a record of 74-17-6 and being named the NJCAA/ICCAC Men's Soccer Coach of the Year three times.
 
What's Next?
A North Dakota State win will see the Bison take on host and No. 1 Seed Denver on Sunday at the University of Denver Soccer Stadium. Kickoff for that game would be at 2 p.m. CT/1 p.m. MT, with the winner advancing to the Summit League Championship game on November 5.