Scene Setter
                The North Dakota State women's soccer team hits the road for the final time in the regular season this week, as the Bison travel to South Dakota. The two teams will face each other on Thursday, April 1 and Saturday, April 3. The match on Thursday will start at 6 p.m., with Saturday's match scheduled for 1 p.m. Both matches will be played at the First Bank & Trust Soccer Complex in Vermillion, S.D.
 
2021 Spring Season Attendance Policy
                For matches played in the Dacotah Field Bubble during the 2021 spring season, fans will not be allowed due to space limitations from the Covid-19 Pandemic.
 
The Series with South Dakota
                North Dakota State owns a 13-2-1 advantage in the all-time series that dates to a 4-1 Bison win in Vermillion on Sept. 25, 1999. The Bison own a 4-1-1 record against the Coyotes in Vermillion, including a 1-0 win in the last trip in 2018. NDSU has a 39-17 advantage in goals scored in the series.
 
North Dakota State Notes

• NDSU Dropped a pair of matches against South Dakota State last weekend, as the Jackrabbits moved into second place in the league standings.
• Off a deflected shot by Olivia Lovick, Danielle Algera scored her second goal of the season in the opener against the Jackrabbits.
• The Bison had a bye last week just past the midway point of the league schedule. NDSU will have two of the final three weekends at home to close the season.
• Two weeks ago, NDSU split a pair of matches in Grand Forks against North Dakota. The Bison won the opener 2-1 before dropping the finale 1-0.
• The Bison hit the road March 5 & 7 for the first time, dropping a pair of 1-0 and 3-0 matches against defending league champion Denver.
• For the second straight weekend, North Dakota State earned a weekend sweep with 3-2 and 2-0 wins over Omaha February 26 & 28.
• In the series opener, senior Marian Taiwo scored three goals, as the Bison won in overtime 3-2.
• The victory on Feb. 28 was the fifth-straight win for NDSU, the longest winning streak since winning six in a row in 2011.

 
About South Dakota

• The Coyotes are 5-6-1 on the year after a pair of victories over Oral Roberts last weekend.
• South Dakota is 4-2 at home, with the only losses being a pair of 1-0 losses to Omaha.
• The Coyotes rank 38th in the nation with 18 assists, while ranking 46th with 20 goals. With 47 total points, South Dakota ranks 47th in the country.
• Taylor Ravelo leads the Summit League and ranks 13th in the nation with three game-winning goals.
• Taylor Cotter ranks 60th in the nation with four assists, while Jordan Centineo and Abby Ostrem rank 122nd with three assists apiece.

 
NDSU in Season Openers
                With a 3-2 loss to Kansas City on Feb. 12, the Bison dropped to 16-10 all-time in season openers. Last year, the Bison beat St. Mary's 1-0 on August 23, winning the season opener for the second-straight year. The Bison are now 9-4-1 all-time in the Summit League opener.
 
Lovick Among Nation's Best
                Freshman Olivia Lovick is one of 35 freshman across the country that have scored four or more goals this season. Lovick is the only player among the 35 that scored four goals in the first four matches of their collegiate careers against NCAA schools.
 
25 Years of NDSU Soccer
                The 2019 season marked the 25th season of soccer at NDSU. In the first 25 years of NDSU soccer, the Bison owned a 248-184-31 (.569) all-time record, including a 131-43-8 (.742) mark in home matches. In six seasons at Dacotah Field, the Bison are 35-17-3 (.664). 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 18 of the 25 seasons played.
 
NDSU Picked Seventh in Summit League Preseason Poll
                The North Dakota State women's soccer team is picked to finish seventh in the Summit League Women's Soccer Preseason Poll, announced Tuesday, Jan. 26 by the league office.
                NDSU finished fifth in the standings last season, missing the conference tournament for the first time in 10 years. The Bison received 25 points in the poll, sitting three points ahead of Omaha and four points behind North Dakota. Defending league champion Denver was picked to repeat with seven first place votes and 63 points, while South Dakota State was picked second with 58 points and the remaining two first place votes. Oral Roberts (45 points), South Dakota (41) and Kansas City (32) rounded out the top five.
                The top four regular-season finishers will qualify for The Summit League Women's Soccer Championship, which will be played in Omaha April 15-17.
 
Last Time Out
                A goal in the 54th minute gave South Dakota State a 1-0 win over the North Dakota State soccer team Sunday afternoon at the Dacotah Field Bubble. The loss drops NDSU to 6-6 on the year, while the Jackrabbits improved to 8-0-4.
                Early in the second half, Kaycee Manding found Maya Hansen for a goal in the 54th minute. It was the seventh goal of the season for Hansen.
                Olivia Lovick led the Bison with five shots, including two on goal. Ashleigh Heely and Lavin Douglass each had a shot on goal. Aly Cole recorded a pair of saves in the net, as she dropped to 4-4 on the season. The Jackrabbits had a 15-11 advantage in shots, while NDSU had a 4-3 advantage in shots on goal.
 
Last Time Against South Dakota
                The North Dakota State women's soccer team beat South Dakota 2-1 Oct. 6, 2019, as the Bison won their Summit League opener for the fifth-straight year.
                The Bison improved to 6-4-1 overall and 1-0 in the Summit League, while South Dakota dropped to 5-8 overall and 0-2 in league play.
                Two first half goals were enough for the Bison offense in the victory, while putting together a strong defensive effort in the second half. Freshman Lavin Douglass started the scoring in the first half, as she stole a pass between a pair of defenders and found the bottom right corner for her first career goal in the 11th minute. In the 28th minute, Mariah Haberle stole a pass before a quick pass to Elyse Huber. Haberle then drilled a shot into the upper right corner, giving the Bison a 2-0 lead with her third goal of the season. It was the first assist of the year for Huber, who leads the Bison with 10 goals scored.
                In the 35th minute, Tiannah Moore dribbled up the right side for the Coyotes before finding Kellee Willer for her third goal of the year. The ball slid into the bottom right corner, cutting the Bison lead to 2-1.
                Huber, Haberle and Laura Powell each had five shots for the Bison, a career-high for Powell. Monica Polgar finished with four saves in the net.
                NDSU held an 18-3 advantage in shots in the first half, while the Coyotes had an 11-3 advantage in the second half. The Bison improved to 13-2-1 all-time against South Dakota, while the Bison are now 14-3-1 under Regan when scoring the first goal of the match.
 
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 2019-20 academic year.
                The Bison posted a 3.63 team GPA for 2019-20, extending an impressive run of earning the Team Academic Award for the 18th time in the past 19 years. The 2019-20 school year was the 20th 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.
 
Strand, Douglass Named to Summit League "Players to Watch" List
                Bison sophomores McKenna Strand and Lavin Douglass were named to the "Players to Watch" list by the league coaches. Both players were selected to the Summit League All-Freshman Team last season. Strand appeared in 17 matches, including seven starts. Douglass started 16 of the 18 matches she played in, while scoring a goal against South Dakota.
 
Head Coach Mike Regan
                Mike Regan begins his third 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
                NDSU returns home for the regular season finale at the Dacotah Field Bubble April 9 & 11 against Oral Roberts. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. on April 9 and 12 p.m. on April 11.