FARGO, N.D. - The North Dakota State women's soccer team will be back on the road for the third-straight week, as the Bison head west to the Rocky Mountains to take on Wyoming and Northern Colorado in the first true road games of the season for NDSU. The Bison are slated to take on Wyoming in Laramie on Friday, with kickoff slated for 5 p.m. Sunday's game at Northern Colorado is set for a 1 p.m. kickoff in Greeley.
 
Live Coverage
Both games this week will be streamed live, with Friday's game at Wyoming appearing on the Mountain West Network and Sunday's game at Northern Colorado appearing on ESPN+. Links for both streams will be available on the women's soccer schedule page on gobison.com.
 
Series History
Friday's meeting will be the second all-time meeting between the two programs, coming exactly one year to the date after the only other meeting. The two schools tied 1-1 in Fargo on September 2, 2021.
 
The Bison face Northern Colorado for the 15th time on Sunday, with the Golden Bears holding a 9-5-0 advantage over NDSU dating back to the first meeting on October 11, 1996. In the Division I era, the Bison hold a 4-3-0 lead in the series, but Northern Colorado has won the last two meetings (2017 and 2018). NDSU's last win in Greeley came in a 2-1 win in 2014.
 
Bison Coming Off Back-to-Back Wins in St. Paul
After two draws to begin the season, the Bison continued their unbeaten run to start the season in Minnesota, defeating Utah Tech 2-0 last Friday and then scoring four against Chicago State in a 4-1 victory on Monday.
 
The Bison avenged a 3-0 defeat in Boise last year against Utah Tech (then Dixie State) as Olivia Watson scored her first goal this season in the first half. Kelsey Kallio scored for the first time since her freshman season to seal the victory midway through the second half. It was the second-consecutive cleansheet for NDSU.
 
NDSU's unbeaten run moved to four to begin the season and five overall (3-0-2) with its victory over Chicago State. The Bison had four different goal scorers, beginning with Paige Goaley's header in the third minute. After the Cougars tied things at 1-1 later in the first, the Bison broke open the game in the second half. Loretta Wacek, Jess Hanley and Olivia Lovick all fired in second-half goals to make it back-to-back victories for the Bison.
 
Last Time vs Wyoming
NDSU and Wyoming battled to a 1-1 tie in the first-ever meeting between the two programs on September 2, 2021. Freshman Olivia Watson scored her first collegiate goal with a rocket shot in the 72nd minute to break a scoreless tie. With her first touch, Watson struck a partially cleared cross into the top left corner from the top of the penalty area.
 
The lead would be short-lived, as Wyoming, who had yet to trail all season, scored less than four minutes later. Savannah Warner fired an initial shot from close range that was saved by Sofia Howe. The Bison keeper was unable to hang onto the ball, popping it back into the air, allowing Alyssa Bedard to volley in a goal from two yards out and tie the game.
 
Last Time vs Northern Colorado
The Bison fell 1-0 to the Golden Bears in Fargo after a 71st minute goal on August 31, 2018. NCO's Lexi Pulley broke a scoreless tie with her second goal of the year from inside the penalty area, following a pass from Lindsi Jennings. NDSU threatened several times in the second half, but ultimately were called back six times in the half for offsides.
 
First Trip to Wyoming
Friday's game will be the first-ever game for the Bison in the state of Wyoming. It will be the 33rd different state, along with Washington DC, that Bison Soccer has played a game in during the program's 28-year history.
 
Bison in Colorado
The Bison are making their first of two trips to Colorado this season, as NDSU will also take on Denver to open up league play in late September. NDSU is 6-15-0 all time in the Centennial State, including a 5-10-0 mark in the Division I era. NDSU is looking to snap a six-game losing skid in Colorado with the match up against the Golden Bears.
 
Quick Strikes
Paige Goaley has scored two goals leading the front line for the Bison this season. She didn't wait long to jump into the scoring action, finding the net 37 seconds into her official return, after missing two full seasons with an injury. Early strikes have become the theme for Goaley, as she also headed in her second goal in the third minute against Chicago State.
 
Back-to-Back First Cleansheets
In the 0-0 tie against Southern, senior goalkeeper Sofia Howe picked up her first career shutout. The Chula Vista, California native saw six shots from the Lady Jaguars and made two saves over 90 minutes to record her first collegiate cleansheet.
 
In the next game for the Bison, true freshman keeper Payton Mulberry stopped four shots in her collegiate debut against Utah Tech, as she pulled off her first collegiate shutout in her first-ever start.
 
Wacek's First is Bison Game Winner
Sophomore Loretta Wacek broke a 1-1 tie in the 67th minute against Chicago State with her first collegiate goal. Taking a pass from Lavin Douglass and firing a right-footed shot into the back of the net, Wacek gave the Bison a lead they never relinquished, picking up her first game-winning goal as well. As a freshman, Wacek picked up an assist in the second minute of her starting debut.
 
Kallio Scores, Moves to Top of Active Assists List in Trip Home
Kelsey Kallio, from the suburbs of the Twin Cities, broke an 18-game goal less streak in St. Paul last Saturday, as she connected on a cross in the second half against Utah Tech to double the Bison lead in the win with her second career goal.
 
Kallio then took over sole possession of first on the active assists list for NDSU on Monday, as she recorded her first-career, two-assist game. Kallio whipped in a pair of corner kicks, with Paige Goaley and Jess Hanley heading in goals in the 3rd and 77th minutes against Chicago State. Kallio now has eight career assists.
 
Hanley, Lovick, Watson All Score First Goals of Season
After two goals as a freshman last season, Olivia Watson picked up her first game-winning goal, as she scored her first goal of 2022 to open the scoring in the 2-0 win against Utah Tech.
 
Jess Hanley and Olivia Lovick scored their first goals of the season on Monday against Chicago State, with each snapping goal less streaks dating back to a 3-2 win against Oral Roberts last season. Hanley's header moved her into second on the NDSU active list with four career goals. Lovick's 80th minute goal moved her to nine career goals and was also her first-career goal away from home, as her previous eight all came at Dacotah Field.
 
Seven Years Wiser
Senior midfielder Payton Jo Armijo is an anchor in the midfield for the Bison this season, starting all four games and logging considerable time on the pitch. Her experience has played heavily in some of the success for the Bison and it comes in her seventh year of collegiate soccer. Armijo has battled the adversities of a red shirt season, injuries and a season being cancelled through COVID, but is playing in her fourth competitive season in 2022.
 
Howe In Top 10 For Career Saves
In her final appearance of the 2021 season, Sofia Howe moved into the top 10 in career saves in NDSU's history. Howe currently sits with 69 as a Bison, eight behind Renee Keller for ninth overall. Howe is also sixth in NDSU's DI era, with Karli Kopietz next on that list at 100.
 
Goaley Strikes NDSU's Fastest Goal
Paige Goaley scored 37 seconds into the season opener against Tarleton, scoring her first career goal and etching her name into the Bison record books, with 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 DI era record was 52 seconds into a match by Britney Monteon against Fort Wayne on October 22, 2017.
 
The Perfect Hat Trick
After missing the last two seasons due to injury, junior Paige Goaley made her long-awaited return to the pitch a thrilling one in the preseason exhibition against Viterbo. Goaley not only scored a hat trick, but completed the feat of the "Perfect Hat Trick" as she scored her first goal with her right foot, her second goal with her left foot, and then finished it off with a header for her third and final goal. Goaley scored all three of her goals in a 26-minute stretch.
 
Team Captains
Head coach Mike Regan announced that senior Dani Stuber and junior Paige Goaley will serve as the team captains in 2022. 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.
 
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.
 
Picked Ninth in Summit League
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. The Bison finished eighth last season after a 3-6-0 record with wins over Oral Roberts (picked 6th), St. Thomas (picked 8th) and North Dakota (picked 10th).
 
Lovick, Nead Named Summit League Players to Watch
Olivia Lovick and Alicia Nead were named Summit League Players to Watch in the league preseason release. Lovick and Nead, both juniors on the Bison squad, headline a returning group of seven starters and 19 letter winners from last season.
 
Lovick, a forward for the Bison, played in all 16 games with 14 starts in 2021, logging 1,162 minutes on the pitch. She recorded two goals, both against Oral Roberts (Oct. 1) in a 3-2 victory and assisted on one goal, setting up the game-winner in the final minute of a 2-1 victory over North Dakota. Lovick is the top returning goal scorer overall for NDSU with eight career goals and three assists in two seasons.
 
Nead also played in all 16 games with 11 starts in the midfield for NDSU, logging 835 minutes last season. Nead scored her first career goal in 2021, scoring the game winner in the final minute of a victory against UND. She also assisted on one goal in the 3-2 win against ORU.
 
Guess Who's Back?
The Bison return seven starters from the 2021 squad, as well as 19 letter winners. Olivia Lovick is the top returning goal scorer, with eight career goals. Lavin Douglass and Jess Hanley also return with three goals each. Hanley, along with Kelsey Kallio, are the top returning assists leaders with six career assists each.
 
NDSU also returns two goalkeepers with considerable experience in Abby Wilkinson and Sofia Howe. Wilkinson started the season in goal for the Bison in 2021 before an injury sidelined her. Howe finished out the year in goal. How has 67 career saves and Wilkinson has 31, along with one cleansheet.
 
Head Coach Mike Regan
Mike Regan begins his fifth season as the head coach of the Bison. NDSU has had five All-Summit League selections in Regan's tenure, 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.
 
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 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.
 
Higgins Joins Staff
Chris Higgins, who joined the Bison from Loras College, will serve as an assistant and will work with the goalkeepers, a role he held at Loras, as he helped guide the women's program to the NCAA Division III Final Four last season. Prior to his coaching career, Higgins was an NAIA Academic All-American goalkeeper at Ashford University, where he was also the AII-League First Team and Goalkeeper of the Year. Higgins helped lead Ashford to the NAIA Final Four in 2013.
 
Up Next
The Bison will welcome teams to Fargo and Dacotah Field for the first time during the 2022 regular season as North Dakota State is set to play host to Green Bay and Drake on family weekend on the NDSU campus. The Bison will take on Green Bay Friday night with kickoff slated for 5 p.m. On Sunday, which will also be senior day, the Bison will take on Drake at 1 p.m. Sunday's game will also be televised live across the state of North Dakota and western Minnesota on WDAY Xtra.