NDSU Hosts South Dakota State to Open Summit League Action

After nine non-conference matches, the North Dakota State women's soccer team will host South Dakota State to kick off Summit League play on Saturday, Sept. 29. Game time is set for 2 p.m. at the Ellig Sports Complex. The Jackrabbits and Bison finished 1-2 in the league last season, with SDSU posting an unbeaten 8-0-1 mark and NDSU finishing at 7-1-1.

The Series vs. South Dakota State

The all-time series with South Dakota State is knotted at 6-6-2. The Jackrabbits have won five of the last six meetings.

Last Meeting

The Jackrabbits claimed a 3-1 victory in the regular season finale in Brookings on Oct. 29 of last season. Senior forward Kaylee McDonald came off the bench to score the lone Bison goal in that contest. NDSU outshot South Dakota State by a 15-13 margin and posted a 9-5 advantage in shots on goal, but Jackrabbit goalkeeper Kat Donovan registered eight saves in the game.

About the South Dakota State Jackrabbits

South Dakota State (2-6-1) defeated Green Bay 2-0 in its season opener before going winless over the next six matches. The Jackrabbits are 1-3 in road games this season. NDSU and SDSU have had three common opponents so far this season, with each school going 1-2-0.

Opponent               NDSU              SDSU

Drake                     L, 1-2 (OT)       L, 1-2

North Dakota         W, 3-0             L, 1-3

Northern Iowa       L, 1-2 (2OT)     W, 4-0

          Juniors Stacy Guijarro and Darci Miller are tied for the team lead with three goals apiece, and freshman Diana Potterveld leads the team with 14 shots on goal. Sophomore Elisa Stamatakis has played 783 of a possible 830 minutes in goal, recording a goals against average of 2.07.

Catching Up with the Bison

NDSU (3-6-0) has only played one home match this season, earning a 2-1 victory in double-overtime against Bemidji State on Sept. 7. Three of the six losses this season for the Bison have come in overtime.

          NDSU has been outscored just 17-13 on the season, despite an 83-40 deficit in shots on goal. Sophomore Anisha Kinnarath leads the Bison with three goals and 13 shots on goal. Eight different Bison have notched goals this year. Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Sierra Bonham has racked up 54 saves this season and owns a goals against average of 1.55.

Last Time Out

The Bison wrapped up non-conference play with a road trip to Northern Iowa (9/14) and Missouri State (9/16), dropping each contest by one goal. Steph Jacobson forced overtime with a goal in the 55th minute against Northern Iowa, but the Panthers tallied the game-winner in the 106th minute. At Missouri State, the Bison were shut out for just the second time this season in a 1-0 defeat.

In the League

Over the past three seasons, North Dakota State has finished no worse than a tie for second place in the Summit League standings. The Bison were co-champions in 2009, tied for second place in 2010, and claimed second place outright in 2011. Since 2009, NDSU is 20-5-2 in league play.

Turning It Up

After averaging 3.4 shots on goal per game through the first five contests of the season, the Bison have averaged 5.8 shots on goal over their last four matches.

Leading the Charge

Sophomore Anisha Kinnarath has recorded 13 shots on goal this season - nearly one-third of NDSU's team total of 40.

Freshman Phenom

Freshman Lizzie Lukas has made her presence known early in her career, tallying two game-winning goals in her first six matches for the Bison. Lukas scored the game-winner in NDSU's 3-2 win at Eastern Washington on Aug. 24, and pulled the feat again in a 2-1 double-overtime victory over Bemidji State on Sept. 7.

Tough 'D'

For the weekend of Sept. 7-9, NDSU allowed only one goal in 198 minutes of action. The Bison limited Bemidji State to one goal in 108 minutes on Sept. 7 and held North Dakota scoreless on Sept. 9.

Save Machine

In eight matches this season, NDSU redshirt freshman goalkeeper Sierra Bonham has totaled 54 saves. She has single-game totals of six, seven (twice), eight, 10 and 11 saves, and her average of 6.75 saves per game is on pace to set the Bison single-season record. The current record of 5.88 saves per game was set by Karli Kopietz in 2005.

NDSU Single-season records

Saves per game (minimum 10 games)

      6.75 - Sierra Bonham (8 games) - 2012

1. 5.88 - Karli Kopietz (17 games) - 2005

2. 5.84 - Kalani Bertsch (19 games) - 2008

3. 5.60 - Kelly Tierney (10 games) - 1999

4. 5.55 - Patricia David (11 games) - 1998

5. 5.50 - Tara Sweeney (10 games) - 1999

6. 5.16 - Kelly Tierney (19 games) - 2002

7. 5.00 - Kelly Tierney (15 games) - 2001

8. 4.95 - Margaret Palo (19 games) - 1996

9. 4.87 - Margaret Palo (15 games) - 1997

10. 4.63 - Monica Morgan (19 games) - 2007

Cook Tallies First Victory as Head Coach

NDSU first-year head coach Mark Cook earned his first career victory on Aug. 24 when the Bison defeated Eastern Washington, 3-2.

Lukas Scores the Game-Winner

North Dakota State freshman Lizzie Lukas picked an opportune time to notch her first career goal, scoring the game-winner in the 84th minute on Aug. 24 to give the Bison a 3-2 road victory over Eastern Washington. The Bison traded goals with EWU twice before Lukas took a pass from redshirt freshman Mary Krambeer and found the back of the net for the deciding goal in the 84th minute.

NDSU Picked Fourth in Preseason Summit League Poll

In a preseason poll of The Summit League's nine head coaches, North Dakota State was picked to finish fourth in the league. One year after finishing conference play with a 7-1-1 mark and advancing to the title game of The Summit League tournament, the Bison garnered 46 points in the poll. Defending tournament champion Oakland and defending regular season champion South Dakota State came in first and second, respectively, in the poll. Kansas City (47 points) edged NDSU by one point for the No. 3 spot. 

Cook Takes the Helm of NDSU Soccer

Mark Cook is in the midst of his first season as the head coach of the Bison, having taken over on Jan. 25, 2012. He is the fourth head coach in the 17-year history of the program. Prior to NDSU, Cook served as the Director of Coaching at the Minnesota Thunder Academy for 11 years, building one of the premier club programs in the Twin Cities.

New Faces All Around

First-year head coach Mark Cook's NDSU coaching staff is full of new faces. Assistant coaches Chris Logan (Notre Dame College, '06) and Meghan Schoeberl (Northern Iowa, '08) and director of soccer operations Katie Luce (NDSU, '12) are each also in their first season with the Bison.

New-Look Bison Program

Of the 22 women on NDSU's roster, 11 are newcomers and 10 are freshmen. Only four starters return from last year's team that went 15-4-2 overall and placed second in The Summit League with a 7-1-1 record. The Bison return four starters, including All-Summit League senior midfielder Holly Christian and junior forward Katie Tallas, who is NDSU's top returning scorer with six goals last season.