Scene Setter
    The North Dakota State Bison women's soccer team (5-4-1 overall, 0-0 Summit) returns home for the first time in nearly a month, as the Bison open Summit League play against South Dakota (5-7, 0-1 Summit). The Coyotes opened league play on Thursday, dropping a 2-1 match at North Dakota.

The Series with South Dakota
    The Bison own a 12-2-1 lead in the all-time series that dates back to a 4-1 NDSU victory in Vermillion on Sept. 25, 1999. NDSU is 7-2-1 against the Coyotes in the NCAA Division I era, with the Bison winning four of the last five meetings. NDSU has won three-straight meetings in Fargo.

Last Time Out
    Utah Valley scored a goal with less than four minutes to play Saturday night, as the Wolverines defeated the North Dakota State soccer team 3-2.
    The loss in the non-conference finale dropped NDSU to 5-4-1 on the season, while Utah Valley improved to 5-5-1. 
    Brookelyn Dew started the scoring for the Bison, as she scored her first goal of the season in the 35th minute. The Wolverines answered with a goal by Jenna Shepherd in the 43rd minute to tie the match at 1-1 going into halftime.
    Early in the second half, Heather Stainbrook scored in the 47th minute to give Utah Valley a 2-1 lead. In the 54th minute, Elyse Huber scored her fourth goal in the last eight days, tying the match at 2-2. In the 86th minute, Julianna Carter gave the Wolverines the 3-2 victory with the final goal.
    Huber had seven shots for the Bison, while Mariah Haberle added a pair. Monica Polgar had nine saves in the net. Polgar became the third player in NDSU history to play over 5,000 minutes in the net in the match.
    Utah Valley held a 19-12 advantage in shots.  

North Dakota State Notes

• The Bison closed the non-conference season on Saturday, 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 last week, 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.
• Senior keeper Monica Polgar successfully defended a penalty kick against Northern Iowa, marking the third-straight match she stopped an opponent's penalty kick attempt.
• NDSU gave up a pair of goals in the final 11 minutes against Drake on Sept. 13, as the Bulldogs rallied for the 2-1 victory over NDSU.
• Ellie Schneider scored her second career goal, and the first off a penalty kick, in the loss at Drake.
• In the win over Chicago State on Sept. 8, Polgar became the fourth player in NDSU history to record 19 career shutouts, the top mark in school history. Polgar also has a pair of combined shutouts.
• Huber had her second match of the year with pair of goals against the Cougars in the 2-0 victory. Huber also scored two goals in a victory over Vermont earlier in the season.

 
About South Dakota

• The Coyotes are 5-7 overall on the season and 0-1 in the Summit League. South Dakota shares three common opponents with the Bison in Northern Iowa (L, 2-1), Eastern Washington (L, 2-1 2 OT) and Drake (W, 2-1).
• South Dakota ranks 71st in the nation in saves per game at 5.5 and 84th in the country with a .805 save percentage.
• Emma Harkleroad ranks 92nd in the nation with 45 saves this season.
• Alexis Mitchell ranks 96th in the nation and leads the Summit League with four assists.
• Mitchell also ranks 88th in the country with a pair of game-winning goals.

25th Season of NDSU Soccer
The 2019 season marks the 25th season of soccer at NDSU. The Bison own a 245-181-29 (.570) all-time record, including a 128-43-7 (.739) mark in home matches. In six seasons at Dacotah Field, the Bison are 32-17-2 (.647). 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. 

Bison in the National Rankings
    NDSU ranks 13th in the nation in saves per game at 7.1, while ranking 25th in the country with a .855 save percentage. Senior Elyse Huber ranks fourth in the country with four game-winning goals, while also ranking fourth with 1.11 goals per game. With 2.22 points per game, Huber ranks seventh in the nation. Huber is 14th in the country with 4.56 shots per game and fourth with 2.89 shots on goal per game. Her 10 goals on the season rank seventh in the country. Senior Monica Polgar ranks 29th in the country with a .855 save percentage, while ranking fifth with 71 total saves. 

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. 

Time Change at Oral Roberts
    The match scheduled for Oct. 13 at Oral Roberts has been moved up an hour. The match will now start at 12 p.m. in Tulsa. 

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.

NDSU Soccer Picked Third in Summit League Preseason Poll 
    The North Dakota State women's soccer team was picked to finish third in the 2019 Summit League Women's Soccer Preseason Poll, announced Monday, Aug. 12 by the league office.
After finishing third in the 2018 standings, the Bison received 41 points and are picked to finish in the same spot. With 63 and 57 points respectively, 2018 Summit League co-champions Denver and South Dakota State are picked for the top two spots in 2019. Denver received seven first place votes, while the Jackrabbits received the other two.
The top four regular-season finishers will qualify for The Summit League Women's Soccer Championship, which will be hosted by reigning regular-season co-champion SDSU in Brookings, S.D., Nov. 7 and 9. 

Radio, TV Coverage Announced for NDSU Women's Soccer
    A pair of NDSU women's soccer matches will air live on the radio and one match will be televised live during the upcoming season. NDSU's regular season home opener against Saint Mary's Aug. 23 and the regular season home finale against North Dakota (Oct. 31) will air live on Bison 1660 AM. The home match against South Dakota on Oct. 6 will be televised live on MidcoSN with Alex Heinert and Jon Hiatt calling the action.

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 Bison hit the road once again next week for a pair of matches. NDSU will travel to Omaha for a 7 p.m. match on Thursday, Oct. 10 before facing Oral Roberts in Tulsa at 12 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 13. The Bison will close the Summit League schedule with three of five matches at home, starting with the next home match on Oct. 18 against Purdue Fort Wayne.