Scene Setter
    The North Dakota State Bison women's soccer team (7-6-3 overall, 2-2-2 Summit) closes the regular season this week with a pair of matches. The Bison will host North Dakota (10-6-1, 4-3 Summit) on Thursday at Dacotah Field before traveling to Denver to face the Pioneers (9-4-3, 5-0-1 Summit) in the regular season finale on Sunday.

The Series with North Dakota
    NDSU owns an 8-5-1 lead in the all-time series with the Fighting Hawks that dates to a 2-1 NDSU victory in Grand Forks on Oct. 23, 1999. The Bison won a 2-1 match in Grand Forks last year, while North Dakota won 1-0 on Aug. 18, 2017 in the last meeting at Dacotah Field. The Bison are 8-2-1 against the Fighting Hawks in the NCAA Division I era.  

The Series with Denver
    Denver owns a 7-1-1 lead in the all-time series that dates to a 2-1 Pioneers win in Denver on Oct. 27, 2013. Denver has won four-straight in the series, including a pair of wins last year. The lone Bison win in the series came on Oct. 9, 2015, a 4-3 victory in Denver. The Bison are 1-2 against the Pioneers in Denver.

Last Time Out
    Summit League leading South Dakota State scored a goal early in the second half Thursday night, as the Jackrabbits beat the North Dakota State soccer team 1-0 at Fishback Soccer Park.
    The Bison dropped to 7-6-3 overall and 2-2-2 in Summit League play with the loss. South Dakota State improved to 14-3 overall and 6-0 in league play, with all 14 victories being shutouts.
    With an assist from Marisa Schulz, Leah Manuleleua scored her 10th goal of the season in the 58th minute to give the Jacks a 1-0 lead. It was the 12th-straight win for SDSU, with all 12 coming via shutout. With both teams finishing with just four shots on goal apiece, it was the only goal of the match.
    Elyse Huber led the Bison with four shots, including two on goal. Paige Goaley, McKenna Strand and Lavin Douglass each added a shot for the Bison, as the Jacks finished with a 20-7 advantage in shots. Monica Polgar recorded three saves in 90 minutes in the net.
    Polgar moved into a tie for seventh in school history with 94 saves this season. Polgar also surpassed 300 career saves, becoming the third player in school history to hit the mark. Huber moved into eighth in school history with 69 shots this season.

25th Season of NDSU Soccer
The 2019 season marks the 25th season of soccer at NDSU. The Bison own a 247-183-31 (.569) all-time record, including a 130-43-8 (.740) mark in home matches. In six seasons at Dacotah Field, the Bison are 34-17-3 (.657). Pete Cuadrado is the all-time leader in wins with 93 in nine seasons as head coach from 2003-11. The Bison have had a winning record in 17 of the 24 seasons played.     

North Dakota State Notes

• Senior Monica Polgar became the third player in school history to surpass 300 career saves in the 1-0 loss at South Dakota State last week.
• The Bison scored two goals in the second half from Laura Powell and Danielle Algera for the 2-1 win over Western Illinois on Sunday. It was the first victory under Mike Regan in which the Bison trailed at halftime.
• NDSU and Purdue Fort Wayne finished in a double overtime scoreless tie on Friday night. It was the first scoreless tie for the Bison since facing Denver on Oct. 14, 2016.
• With the tie at Oral Roberts before the Purdue Fort Wayne tie, it was the first time NDSU has had back-to-back draws since facing Omaha (T, 1-1) and South Dakota (2-2) on Oct. 10 and 12, 2014.
• The three draws this season for the Bison are the second most in school history.
• NDSU used a goal late in the first half by Nicky De Pape to even the score with Oral Roberts on Sunday en route to a 1-1 tie. The goal by De Pape came on her first career shot attempt.
• The Bison dropped a 1-0 match at Omaha last week, giving up an early goal. It was the seventh match decided by one goal this year for NDSU. The Bison are 3-4 in those matches.
• For the fifth-straight year, NDSU opened Summit League play with a victory against South Dakota (2-1). 
• Freshman Lavin Douglass recorded her first goal of the season, while senior Mariah Haberle had the game-winner. It was the 16th career goal for Haberle and her sixth career game-winner.
• The Bison closed the non-conference season by dropping a 3-2 match at Utah Valley.
• Junior Brookelyn Dew and senior Elyse Huber tallied the two goals for the Bison against Utah Valley.
• NDSU picked up a 4-2 victory at Eastern Washington, with all four goals coming from Huber. Both Eastern Washington goals came from Sariah Keister.
• The four goals by Huber were the most against an NCAA Division I opponent in school history and the most by a Bison player since NDSU became an NCAA Division I school.
• In the loss at Northern Iowa, the Panthers scored their three goals in the first 27 minutes of the match.
• Polgar successfully defended a penalty kick against Northern Iowa, marking the third-straight match she stopped an opponent's penalty kick attempt.

 
About North Dakota

• The Fighting Hawks are 10-6-1 overall and 4-3 in the Summit League. This is the final regular season contest for North Dakota.
• North Dakota ranks 59th in the nation in goals with 33 on the year, while also ranking 59th with 5.71 corner kicks per game.
• With .831 goals against average, Catherine Klein ranks 56th in the nation. Klein also ranks 68th with six shutouts.

About Denver

• The Pioneers are 9-4-3 overall and 5-0-1 in the Summit League. Denver will host league-leading South Dakota State and NDSU in the final two matches.
• Denver has locked up a top-two seed in the Summit League Tournament and is the only team in the standings that can catch the Jackrabbits.
• The Pioneers rank sixth in the country with a .688 shutout percentage, while ranking ninth with a .419 goals against average.
• Brittany Wilson ranks 13th in the nation with a .446 goals against average and 21st with eight shutouts.

Bison in the National Rankings
    NDSU ranks 24th in the nation with a .851 save percentage, while ranking 31st in the country with 6.06 saves per game. Senior Elyse Huber ranks 11th in the country with 2.4 shots on goal per game and 16th with 4.6 shots per game. Huber also ranks 31st in the nation with .67 goals per game and 39th with four game-winning goals. Huber's 10 goals rank 46th in the country. With 94 saves this season, Monica Polgar ranks 19th in the nation. Polgar also ranks 26th with 5.88 saves per game and 34th with a .847 save percentage.

Bison Women's Soccer Earns United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Award
    The North Dakota State University women's soccer team earned the United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Award for exemplary performance in the classroom during the 2018-19 academic year. 
    The Bison posted a 3.655 team GPA for 2018-19, extending an impressive run of earning the Team Academic Award for the 17th time in the past 18 years. The 3.655 team GPA for the year was the highest in school history. The 2018-19 school year was the 19th time the Bison have won the award since it was introduced in 1996.
    To qualify for the award, a team must have a minimum grade-point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher for the entire academic year. 

Huber Named Summit League Female Athlete of the Month
    Senior Elyse Huber has been named the Summit League Female Athlete of the Month for August and September. Huber helped lead the Bison to a 5-4-1 record through August and September entering league action. She tied the Summit League record with four goals in a win over Eastern Washington. That accomplishment earned her both the Summit League Player of the Week and the United Soccer Coaches National Player of the Week. The Sioux City, Iowa native ranks fifth in the nation with 10 goals, third in the country with four game-winning goals, fourth in the nation with 1.11 goals per match and fourth in the country with 2.89 shots on goal per game. 

Haberle Named to Summit League "Players to Watch" List
    Bison senior Mariah Haberle was named to the "Players to Watch" section by the league coaches. Haberle, an All-Summit League First Team selection last season, started all 16 matches with seven goals and two assists on the season. Haberle had four game-winning goals for NDSU last year.

Head Coach Mike Regan
    Mike Regan begins his second season at the head coach of the Bison. An assistant coach for teams in the Missouri Valley and Big Ten Conferences over the previous six seasons before coming to NDSU, Regan was named head women's soccer coach at North Dakota State on Jan. 19, 2018.
    Regan came to NDSU after two seasons as a Big Ten assistant coach at Indiana University in Bloomington. Prior to Indiana, he was an assistant coach at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, for four seasons where he was part of the 2015 Missouri Valley Conference championship team and the 2015 MVC Coaching Staff of the Year. Drake made four consecutive MVC tournament appearances.
    Before joining Drake, Regan was the head coach for the North Iowa Area Community College men's soccer team for five seasons, where he posted an impressive record of 74-17-6 and was named the NJCAA/ICCAC Men's Soccer Coach of the Year three times.
    Regan also has extensive coaching experience at the youth level. He is currently a staff coach with the U.S. Youth Soccer Region II Girls Olympic Development Program and served as the head coach of the Iowa ODP '98 age group for three years. Regan holds a National 'A' Coaching License from the United States Soccer Federation.
    Regan earned a bachelor's degree from Waldorf College in 2009 and a master's degree from California University of Pennsylvania in 2011.

On the Horizon
    The Summit League Women's Soccer Championship is scheduled for Nov. 7 and 9 in Brookings, S.D., with the top four teams in the standings qualifying. The Bison are currently tied for the final spot with Oral Roberts heading into the final weekend, with both teams having eight points. The Golden Eagles will travel to South Dakota on Thursday before hosting Purdue Fort Wayne in the final match on Sunday. South Dakota (seven points), Western Illinois (six points) and Omaha (six points) are all also within striking distance of the final two spots. South Dakota State (19 points) and Denver (16 points) have locked up the top two spots in the tournament.