Bison Host Centenary Friday, Oral Roberts Sunday for Senior Day

FARGO, N.D. - The North Dakota State soccer team (9-5-4, 4-2-1 Summit) will play host to Centenary and Oral Roberts this weekend to close out the regular season.  The Bison are currently tied for third with Oral Roberts and South Dakota State in the Summit League standings and are looking to lock up their second straight bid to the league tournament.  Friday’s game against ninth-place Centenary (4-12, 1-6 Summit) will kick off at 3 p.m. at the Ellig Sports Complex, while Sunday’s noon tilt with Oral Roberts (9-6-1, 4-2-1 Summit) will be Senior Day as the Bison honor the contributions of Candice D’Arcangeli, Marissa Wolfgram and Quin Ryan.

Series records

The Bison are 3-0 all-time against Centenary, including a 2-0 win in the regular season finale in 2009.  NDSU is 1-1-1 all-time against Oral Roberts and claimed the team’s first win in the series last year, a 2-1 overtime victory in Tulsa.

Summit League Tournament

Oakland has already clinched a share of the Summit League regular season title and will win the title outright with a win or draw against Southern Utah Thursday.  The top four teams in the league will advance to the Summit League Tournament Presented by American Airlines Nov. 5-7 in Brookings, S.D.

About Centenary

The Ladies snapped a seven-game losing streak on Oct. 22, defeating UMKC, 2-1.  Centenary is now 4-12 overall and 1-6 in the Summit League.  Kortney Causey leads the team with three goals and two assists. Kelly Fossard has also scored three times. Goalie Kalyn Harris has made 84 saves and posted four shutouts.

About Oral Roberts

The Golden Eagles are coming off shutout wins over Southern Utah and UMKC and are 9-6-1 overall and 4-2-1 in the Summit League.  Jennifer Abernathy has scored six goals to lead the team. Goalie Amanda Wheeler has started every game and has a 1.33 goals against average.

Bison take down South Dakota State

Senior Quin Ryan scored the game-winning goal with five minutes remaining to lift the Bison to a 2-1 win over South Dakota State Saturday, Oct. 23.  The win snapped a four-game losing streak to the Jackrabbits.  Senior Candice D’Arcangeli gave the Bison an early lead and also assisted on Ryan’s game-winner.

Home sweet home

NDSU has a 7-1 record at the Ellig Sports Complex this season with the only blemish coming in a 1-0 loss to Northern Iowa. The Bison have outscored their opponents 17-7 at home and outshot their opponents 147-56. Over the past two seasons, the Bison have amassed a 13-2 record at home.  The Bison still have two home games remaining on the 2010 schedule, starting with Friday’s clash with Centenary.

NDSU in the Summit stats

The Bison currently lead the Summit League rankings in all games with 107 corner kicks and third with a goals against average of 1.05.  Junior Abbey Stratton is tied for the league lead in assists with six and second in assists per game at 0.38.  In league games only, the Bison rank second in goals against average at 0.94.  They are also tied for first in shutouts with three.

Climbing the career charts

Senior Quin Ryan is tied for 10th in career goals with 17 and tied for fifth in game-winning goals with 7 after scoring the winner against South Dakota State.  Ryan is No. 7 in shots on goal with 58.   Junior Abbey Stratton tallied her sixth assist of the season in the victory over IUPUI, tying her career-high for assists in a season.  She is now tied for ninth all-time at NDSU in assists with 16.  She also ranks eighth in career shots on goal with 57.

Cuadrado earns 75th career win

Head coach Pete Cuadrado picked up his 75th career victory with the win over South Dakota State on Saturday.   He won his 70th game with a victory over Mary on Sept. 14.  Cuadrado is 75-58-14 in eight seasons at the helm of the Bison and is the program’s all-time winningest coach.

Summit League Standings