FARGO, N.D. - North Dakota State soccer closes out the non-conference schedule this week, hosting Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Friday, Sept. 15, at Dacotah Field. The Bison will also celebrate senior night against Arkansas-Pine Bluff with a senior ceremony following the game.
 
Game Coverage
Friday's game will be streamed live on the Summit League Network. The game will also have live statistics. Links for coverage are available on gobison.com.
 
The Series
The Bison will meet Arkansas-Pine Bluff for the first time in program history on the pitch on Friday. As a department, NDSU has matched up with the Lions in eight head-to-head games all-time. Baseball holds a 4-2 record against the Lions and Volleyball is 2-0, including a 3-0 win last season in the most recent matchup between the two schools.
 
Last Week for the Bison
NDSU is coming off of a split last week at Dacotah Field, defeating Northern Colorado 1-0 before falling to Creighton 2-3. Olivia Watson scored her fifth career game-winning goal in the 62nd minute and Abby Wilkinson made seven stops for a Bison shutout against the Bears on Friday. Against the Bluejays on Sunday, Watson scored her team-leading third goal and Paige Goaley scored her first of the season to put NDSU up 2-0 before the Big East side scored three unanswered for the comeback victory.
 
40th State Played Against
When the Bison match up with Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Friday, it will be the 40th different state, plus Washington D.C., that NDSU Soccer has played an opponent from, dating back to the start of the program in 1995.
 
Back-to-Back for Watson
Olivia Watson scored in both games last week, as she hit double-digits in career goals (11) and moved to within one of Olivia Lovick (12) for the active lead in goals as a Bison. It is the second time in Watson's career that she has scored in consecutive games, having also done it against St. Thomas and Western Illinois last season. The Moorhead native has shined at home, with nine of her 11 career goals coming at Dacotah Field.
 
Hanley Delivering from Back Line
Defender Jess Hanley added a pair of assists this week, setting up goals in both games in nearly identical fashion. From the back line, Hanley played long lob passes over the defense, setting up Watson and Goaley for quick finishes. It is the first time since her freshman season, when she was a winger, that Hanley has set up goals in back-to-back games. Sunday's assist was the 10th of her career, second on the active Bison list.
 
Bison Find Early Strikes
Prior to Sunday, six of NDSU's nine goals had come in the second half, with the other three coming in the final 15 minutes of the first half. On Sunday, the Bison scored their first two goals of the season in the opening half hour, including a fourth minute strike from Olivia Watson. It was the quickest strike for the Bison since a third minute goal vs. Chicago State in late August last season.
 
Freshman Firepower
NDSU's newest players have wasted no time making their mark on the team, with four of NDSU's 11 goals on the season coming by the freshman. Defender Amaya Garrett has scored twice, including the most recent at Coastal Carolina. Ava Stanchina (Austin Peay) and Tyreese Zacher (Boise State) have the other two goals.
 
Wilkinson Continues Climb
Abby Wilkinson has been moving on and up the career charts for the Bison. Wilkinson moved into a tie for ninth on the wins list (9) against Northern Colorado, and is one shy of eighth. She passed Tara Sweeney for seventh on the all-time goalie games played and started list earlier this year, sitting at 29 in both. Her seventh cleansheet has moved her into ninth overall, one shy of Karli Kopietz for eighth and three shy of sixth. She also surpassed Sweeney in saves last week, moving into seventh at 146. Wilkinson has also moved into the 10th in goals against average (1.59).
 
Game Over Gang
Against Austin Peay, Ava Stanchina put away the decisive goal in the Bison's first win on the season. Stanchina's goal made her the seventh active Bison with a game winner on their resume and the first freshman on the season to record the honor. At Coastal Carolina, freshman Amaya Garrett joined the list with the game's only goal in Conway, growing the list to eight Bison. Last week against Northern Colorado, Olivia Watson continued to grow her lead on the active list, as she scored her fifth career game-winning goal.
 
That Goaley Scores
Paige Goaley picked up her first goal of the season on Sunday and the eighth of her career. The senior is coming off of an All-Summit League and United Soccer Coaches All-West Region season following a seven-goal campaign in 2022 after her return from missing two seasons with a leg injury. Goaley added five goals in the final month last season, jumping toward the top of the Summit League in goals and points in league play.
 
Experience on Back Line
The Bison returned a wealth of experience on the back line, which led to seven cleansheets last season and two so far this season. The four main players (McKenna Strand, Kaitlyn Hanson, Ashleigh Heely, and Jess Hanley) on the back line in 2022, who all returned this season, have combined to play in 226 games with 168 starts. The group has logged 14,897 minutes on the pitch, with all four over 3,300 career minutes played.
 
What's Next?
The Bison will open up Summit League play at Dacotah Field next week, hosting Kansas City on Thursday, Sept. 21, before welcoming in Omaha on Sunday, Sept. 24. Both games will be streamed live on the Summit League Network.