Women's Soccer | 8/16/2017 1:47:00 PM

Quick Notes:

• The two-time defending Summit League regular season champion North Dakota State University women's soccer team kicks off the 2017 regular season with a home match against the University of North Dakota Friday, Aug. 18, at 7 p.m. before traveling to Minneapolis to take on the 19th ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers on Monday, Aug. 21, at 7 p.m.
• Friday's contest against North Dakota will mark the beginning of the 22nd season of Bison soccer. NDSU has an all-time record of 223-160-30 entering the 2017 campaign.
• North Dakota State returns five starters from last season's Summit League regular season championship team, including All-Summit League honorees Holly Enderle, Monica Polgar and Mariah Haberle.
• North Dakota State finished last season with a 10-8-1 overall record and a 5-2-1 Summit League tally.

The Series Against North Dakota
        Friday's regular season opener against the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks will mark the 13th meeting in the all-time series that dates back to 1999. The Bison lead the series, 7-4-1, after defeating UND in Grand Forks last season, 4-1.
 

The Series Against Minnesota
        Monday's contest at Minnesota will be the seventh meeting in the all-time series that dates back to 2004. NDSU has dropped all six previous meetings with the Golden Gophers. The last time the two teams met was during the 2015 season, with Minnesota claiming a 3-0 victory over NDSU in Minneapolis.
 

Catching Up with The Herd

• Entering Friday's 2017 regular season opener,  North Dakota State is coming off a 2-2 draw against Missouri State and a 1-1 draw against Manitoba in a pair of exhibition matches Aug. 10 and 12.
• In the Bison's tie with Missouri State Aug. 12, junior forward Holly Enderle netted both goals off of assists from redshirt freshman Julia Densmore and senior Bailey Lervick. In NDSU's 1-1 draw against Manitoba Aug. 10, Lervick netted the Bison's lone goal on a penalty kick.
• Dating back to 2010, NDSU is 5-3-4 in exhibition competition.
• North Dakota State is 14-8-0 all-time in regular season openers. The Bison lost their 2016 regular season opener against Drake at home, 1-0.
• The Bison were picked to finish tied for second with South Dakota State in The Summit League Women's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll. Denver was tabbed the preseason favorite by just one-point.
• NDSU welcomes 10 newcomers this season in freshmen Marian Taiwo (F), Danielle Algera (MF), Kennedi Keller (D), Daniella Jasper (F/MF), Malana Vachon (MF), Brookelyn Dew (F/MF), Grace Sundberg (D), Ellen Schneider (D/MF) and Maddie Burnstein (D), and transfer Nicola De Pape (D).
• After their home opener Aug. 18 against North Dakota, the Bison will be on the road for seven consecutive matches and won't return to Dacotah Field until their Sept. 17 tilt with Utah Valley.

Looking Back at 2016

• The Bison compiled a 10-8-1 overall record and won their second straight Summit League regular season title with a 5-2-1 league mark.
• Seven Bison were named All-Summit League. Sophomore Holly Enderle and senior Amy Yang were selected first team all-league, while seniors Natalie Fenske, Genna Joyce and Lizzie Lukas, and freshman Monica Polgar garnered second team all-league honors. Freshman Mariah Haberle was named to the all-freshmen team.
• Holly Enderle, Natalie Fenske and Amy Yang were voted to The Summit League Academic All-League Team.
• Natalie Fenske was voted to the CoSIDA Academic All-District 6 First Team for her performance in the classroom and on the pitch. Fenske was also named a Senior CLASS Award candidate.
• Holly Enderle led the Bison and ranked second in The Summit League with 10 goals and 22 points.
• Amy Yang and Mariah Haberle each dished out a team-best six assists.]
• Monica Polgar led the league with six shutouts in goal and tallied a 9-8-0 record with a 1.27 goals-against average (GAA) and 57 saves.
   

• The University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks are coming off a pair of 1-0 exhibition wins over Jamestown and Bemidji State Aug. 12 and 15.
• North Dakota was picked 11th out of 11 teams in the Big Sky Conference preseason poll.
• UND compiled an overall record of 2-14-2 and went 1-9-0 in Big Sky play last season.
• The Fighting Hawks' top returning offensive player from last season is junior forward Katie Moller, who scored a team-high three goals for a team-best six points.
• North Dakota also welcomes back junior goalkeeper Olivia Swenson. Last season, Swenson started 11 matches and compiled a 2.23 goals-against average in 927:35 minutes. She allowed 23 goals while making 85 saves for a .787 save percentage.
• As a team in 2016, UND averaged 0.61 goals per game while allowing 2.00 goals per game.
• The Fighting Hawks are under the leadership of first season head coach Chris Logan.

Scouting Minnesota

• The University of Minnesota Golden Gophers started the 2017 season with a pair of exhibition victories against Creighton and Kansas State. Minnesota defeated Creighton in Omaha, Neb., Aug. 6, 1-0, before downing Kansas State in Minneapolis Aug. 11, 2-0.
• Minnesota is scheduled to travel to Washington State for its regular season opener Aug. 18 before hosting the Bison.
• The Golden Gophers are ranked 19th in the United Soccer Coaches' preseason poll released Aug. 3.
• Minnesota was picked to finish fifth out of 14 teams in the Big Ten preseason coaches' poll.
• The Gophers compiled an overall record of 16-3-4 and went 7-1-3 in Big Ten play last season. Minnesota advanced to the NCAA tournament before falling to North Carolina State in the first round in a penalty kick shootout.
• Minnesota's top returning scorer from last season is senior forward Sydney Squires, who netted eight goals and dished out two assists for 18 points. The Golden Gophers also welcome back junior midfielder Molly Fiedler, who tallied seven assists in 2016.
• In goal, the Golden Gophers will have two new goalkeepers in freshman Maddie Nielsen and junior Kailee Sharp.
• As a team in 2016, Minnesota averaged 2.09 goals per game while surrendering only 0.52 goals per game.
• The Golden Gophers are under the direction of sixth season head coach Stefanie Golan.

New Playing Surface at Dacotah Field
        North Dakota State will be playing on a brand new FieldTurf artificial turf surface at Dacotah Field beginning this season. The turf was installed in the summer of 2017.
 

Head Coach Mark Cook
        Mark Cook is in his sixth season at the helm of the North Dakota State soccer program after being named head coach in 2012.  He is the fourth head coach in the 20-year history of the program.
        Cook helped the Bison claim their second straight Summit League regular season championship in 2016, as North Dakota State compiled an overall record of 10-8-1 and a league mark of 5-2-1. NDSU qualified for its eighth consecutive Summit League tournament and hosted the league tournament at Dacotah Field for the first time in program history. Seven student-athletes received All-Summit League honors. Holly Enderle and Amy Yang earned first team all-league accolades, while Natalie Fenske, Genna Joyce, Lizzie Lukas and Monica Polgar were named second team all-league. Mariah Haberle rounded out the Bison honorees and was named to the all-freshmen team, respectively.
        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.
        Cook holds the United States Soccer Federation 'A' coaching license, the highest certification available in the U.S.  He also has the NSCAA Premier License and Director of Coaching Diploma.
        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.
 

On the Horizon
        North Dakota State treks to Utah for a pair of matches. The Bison are slated to take on Weber State in Ogden on Friday, Aug. 25, before traveling to Salt Lake City to face Utah Sunday, Aug. 27.