Match 8: North Dakota State (4-3) at SIU Edwardsville (2-3-1)
Friday, Sept. 19, 2014 | 7 p.m.
Ralph Korte Stadium (Bob Guelker Field) | Edwardsville, Ill.
Live Stats | Live Video

Match 9: North Dakota State at Drake (4-4)
Sunday, Sept. 21, 2014 | 1 p.m.
Cownie Soccer Complex | Des Moines, Iowa
Live Stats

Social Media: @NDSUsoccer | @NDSUathletics | #SummitWSOC

Complete Weekly Match Notes (PDF)

This Week in NDSU Soccer:
 
NDSU Looks to Get Back on Winning Track at SIU Edwardsville, Drake
        The North Dakota State University women's soccer team will look to snap a three-game losing streak when it travels to SIU Edwardsville and Drake for a pair of non-league matches this week. The Bison will face the SIU Edwardsville Cougars on Friday, Sept. 19, in Edwardsville, Ill., at 7 p.m. before facing the Drake Bulldogs in Des Moines, Iowa, on Sunday, Sept. 21, at 1 p.m.
 
The Series against SIU Edwardsville
Friday's match in Edwardsville will mark the first-ever meeting between the Bison and Cougars on the soccer pitch.
 
The Series against Drake
Sunday's tilt at Drake will be the eighth meeting in the all-time series between the Bison and Bulldogs. NDSU currently trails Drake in the series, 2-4-1. The last time the two programs met was in 2012, with the Bulldogs defeating the Bison, 2-1, in double overtime in Des Moines.
 
About SIU Edwardsville
The SIUE Cougars, a member of the Ohio Valley Conference, enter the week with an overall record of 2-3-1 after splitting a pair of weekend matches. The Cougars fell at home against Drake Friday, 2-1 in double overtime, before bouncing back Sunday at Northern Illinois with a 1-0 victory ... SIU Edwardsville is 1-1-1 at home and 1-2 on the road through six matches ... Cassidy Sherman leads SIU Edwardsville in goals with two and total points with five. She also has one assist on the season ... Five other players have scored one goal each for the Cougars through six matches, including Michelle Auer, who leads the team in assists with two and shots on goal with eight ... Goalkeeper Jennifer Pelley has started all six matches, allowing 10 goals while making 32 saves for a goals against average (GAA) of 1.57. She is 2-3-1 with one shutout in 573:41 minutes in goal ... As a team, SIUE is averaging 1.2 goals per game while giving up 1.7 per game to its opponents.
 
About Drake
Drake, a member of the Missouri Valley Conference, enters the week with a 4-4 overall record after winning a pair of weekend matches. Friday the Bulldogs defeated SIU Edwardsville, 2-1 in double overtime, before claiming a 2-0 win at Western Illinois Sunday ... Drake is 1-1 at home, 2-2 on the road and 1-1 at neutral locations through eight matches ... Rebecca Rodgers paces Drake in goals with seven, total points with 16 and shots on goal with 13. She also has two assists through eight matches to go along with two game-winning goals ... Ashlie Stokes has a team-high three assists and has also netted two goals for seven total points. Stokes leads Drake in total shots with 22 ... Goalkeeper Kylynn Moyer has started seven matches between the pipes for Drake, allowing 11 goals while making 39 saves for a GAA of 1.54. She is 4-3 with one shutout in 641:00 minutes in goal ... As a team, Drake averages 1.62 goals per game while its opponents average 1.75 per game.
 
Catching Up with the Bison
NDSU enters the week with an overall record of 4-3 after dropping a pair of matches at Maine and Holy Cross this past weekend by identical 1-0 scores. Through seven matches, NDSU is 2-1 at home and 2-2 on the road ... Through seven matches, NDSU is led in scoring by Lauren Miller, who has a team-and Summit League-high seven goals. Miller also leads the team and league in total points (14), goals per game (1.40) and game-winning goals (3). She is ranked fifth in game-winning goals, sixth in total goals and ninth in goals per game in the latest NCAA statistics ... Amy Yang leads the Bison and is tied for The Summit League lead in assists through seven matches with four ... Sierra Bonham has made all seven starts in goal for NDSU and has compiled a record of 4-3 with one shutout. She has given up five goals while making 31 saves in 598:02 minutes for a GAA average of 0.75. Bonham leads The Summit League in GAA and save percentage (.861) ... As a team, the Bison average 1.86 goals per game while holding their opponents to 0.71 per game. NDSU is being outshot by its opponents, on average, 13.0 to 11.4 and has taken 26 corner kicks compared to 32 from its opponents. Defensively, the Bison lead The Summit League in GAA with an average of 0.70 and goals allowed with five.
 
NDSU Tabbed Third in Summit League Preseason Poll
        The North Dakota State University women's soccer team was picked to finish third in The Summit League's preseason poll. Reigning league champion Denver was selected as the preseason favorite in a vote of the league's nine head coaches. South Dakota State was second followed by the Bison at third. Oral Roberts was fourth followed by Western Illinois at fifth and Fort Wayne at sixth. IUPUI, Omaha and South Dakota rounded out the poll at seventh, eighth and ninth.
 
Head Coach Mark Cook
           Mark Cook is entering his third season at the helm of the North Dakota State soccer program after being named head coach on Jan. 25, 2012.  He is the fourth head coach in the 17-year history of the program.
        Last season, Cook led NDSU to an overall record of 9-10 and a third place finish in The Summit League with a record of 4-3. The Bison advanced to The Summit League tournament championship match with a 2-1 upset win over South Dakota State before falling to Denver to finish runner-up in the event. It was NDSU's fifth straight appearance in the league tournament.
        Cook came to NDSU after serving as the Director of Coaching at the Minnesota Thunder Academy for 11 years, where he grew a four-team program into one of the premier club programs in the Twin Cities with 65 teams in 2012.
        He graduated from Alfred (N.Y.) University in 1993 with a bachelor's degree in communications. He was the starting goalkeeper at Alfred for two years.
 
The Opposing Coaches
Derek Burton - SIU Edwardsville
        The 2014 season marks Derek Burton's seventh as the women's soccer head coach at SIUE. He has led his team to back-to-back appearances in the semifinals of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament. Burton begins the year with an overall record of 42-47-11.
        Prior to arriving at SIU Edwardsville, Burton spent a season as an assistant at Arkansas-Little Rock and two seasons as an assistant coach at Morehead State.
        Burton earned a bachelor's in health education at Arkansas-Little Rock in 1997 and a master's in sports administration at Morehead State in 1999.
 
Lindsey Horner - Drake
        Lindsey Horner is in her seventh season leading the Drake women's soccer program, owning a 46-53-19 record as head coach after serving five seasons (2003-08) as assistant coach for the Bulldogs.
        Horner was named to her position on April 10, 2008, becoming only the second head coach for women's soccer, which began as a varsity sport in 2002.
        A native of West Des Moines, Iowa, Horner was a four-year letterwinner at Kansas, being named the Jayhawks' most valuable offensive player as a senior in 2000. She was an all-academic Big 12 Conference selection in the spring of 2001 and graduated in 2002 with a bachelor of science degree from the school of education, majoring in exercise science with an emphasis in sports management. She earned a master's degree in adult learning and organizational performance with an emphasis in leadership at Drake.

Up Next
        The Bison will open Summit League play at home against Western Illinois on Friday, Oct. 3, at 7 p.m. at Dacotah Field.