Summit League Regular Season Title on the Line as NDSU Travels to South Dakota State

FARGO, N.D. - The North Dakota State soccer team will play South Dakota State Saturday, Oct. 29 for the Summit League regular season title as well as the top seed in the league tournament. The Bison (14-2-2, 7-0-1 Summit) travel to Brookings for a 6 p.m. contest with the Jackrabbits (11-5-2, 7-0-1 Summit) at Fishback Soccer Park. A win would give the Bison their first-ever outright league title and first No. 1 tournament seed. A tie would also see NDSU take the No. 1 seed on the goal difference tiebreaker. Live stats will be available on GoBison.com.

The Series
NDSU leads the all-time series with South Dakota State, 6-5-2. Last year, the teams met twice in the regular season and the league tournament. The Bison claimed a 2-1 win in the regular season meeting, thanks to a goal and assist from Candice D'Arcangeli. In the league tournament semifinals, the teams played to a 1-1 double overtime draw. The Bison advanced to the final after winning a penalty kick shootout, 4-3.

About the Jackrabbits
South Dakota State comes into the weekend on a nine-game unbeaten streak, including three straight wins. The Jackrabbits are coming off shutout wins over South Dakota and UMKC and have not conceded a single goal in eight Summit League games. Goalie Kat Donovan has recorded a league-record 11 shutouts this season. Kayla Braffett leads the team with five goals and five assists. Head coach Lang Wedemeyer is in his 12th year with the program.

Unbeaten streak at 12
NDSU has gone unbeaten in 12 straight games this fall, besting a school record nine-game streak set in 1999 and 2003. The Bison are 9-0-2 since beginning the streak with a 3-0 win over Montana on Sept. 16. The team's last loss was Sept. 11 against Idaho.

Bison in the NCAA rankings
In the latest NCAA rankings released Oct. 24, NDSU is ranked in the top 50 out of 330 teams in four categories. The Bison are No. 16 in shutout percentage at .611, No. 17 in winning percentage at .833 and No. 49 in scoring offense with 2.00 goals per game. Senior goalie Kalani Bertsch is No. 47 in goals against average at 0.792.

Road warriors
The Bison are one of eight teams nationwide that are unbeaten on the road this season with a record of 7-0-1. NDSU is joined by top 25 teams No. 1 Stanford, No. 2 Oklahoma State, No. 3 Pepperdine, No. 7 Wake Forest, No. 8 Memphis, No. 10 Santa Clara and No. 25 LaSalle. NDSU's only two losses this season have come in neutral site matches.

Shutouts galore
With the 1-0 win over South Dakota, NDSU recorded its school record 11th shutout of the season, breaking the record of 10 set by four teams (1999, 2000, 2005, 2006). The team is also tied for third all-time in the Summit League season records. Senior goalie Kalani Bertsch also claimed the school record in season shutouts with her ninth of the year. She is now tied for first in career shutouts with 19.

Bison go 1-0-1 on road trip
NDSU had its six-game winning streak snapped in a 1-1 double overtime draw with UMKC on Friday, Oct. 21. UMKC scored in the 83rd minute, but Katie Tallas equalized two minutes later with her team-leading sixth goal of the year. The Bison earned their 11th shutout of the year in a 1-0 win over South Dakota on Sunday, Oct. 23. Steph Jacobson scored her second of the year after receiving a pass from Holly Christian.

NDSU No. 131 in latest RPI
North Dakota State is ranked No. 131 in the latest edition of the NCAA Women's Soccer RPI released Wednesday, Oct. 26, dropping nine spots from last week's ranking of No. 122. The Bison are the highest ranked Summit League teams with upcoming opponent South Dakota State next at No. 177. Early season opponent California is the highest ranked team NDSU has faced at No. 35.

Summit League stats
In league games only, the Bison are at the top of the standings in shots (146) and tied for first in goals (16). Individually, Brooklyn Dyce is first in assists with four and in first in assists per game at 0.50. Michelle Gaffaney is tied for first with three game-winning goals. Kalani Bertsch is ranked second in shutouts (4), save percentage (.946) and goals against average (0.25).

Rewriting the record books
Senior goalkeeper Kalani Bertsch has set school records in career saves with 312 and career wins with 36 this season. She is also tied for first in career shutouts with 19 and has extended her records in career ties (12) and goalie minutes played (6,536). On the season charts, she holds the record for shutouts with nine and is tied for first in wins with 14. She is also making her mark on the Summit League record book, ranking second in career wins and third in shutouts