FARGO, N.D. - North Dakota State soccer will look to bounce back from a season-opening loss as the Bison welcome in Baylor University to Fargo on Sunday. The Bison and Bears are set for a 1 p.m. kickoff at Dacotah Field. The game will be broadcast live on Bison 1660 as well as on NDSU All Access. Keith Brake and Andy Rieckhoff will be on the call.
 
2021 Season Attendance Policy

• With the return to a traditional fall season for the Bison women's soccer team, and matches being played with the standard Dacotah Field layout, attendance to Bison home soccer matches is once again open to the general public.
• Fans are strongly encouraged to wear masks to Bison soccer games and maintain social distancing where possible with the COVID-19 Pandemic still impacting our community.

 
Last Time Out

• NDSU fell in the season opener to Idaho Thursday night at Dacotah Field, falling on a penalty kick goal for the Vandals late in the first half.
• The Bison were even with Idaho through the first half hour, but a foul at the top of the penalty area was called and the Vandals were awarded a penalty kick in the 37th minute. Idaho's Margo Schoesler tucked the penalty into the left corner past Abby Wilkinson for the only goal of the game.
• Wilkinson was perfect the rest of the way, finishing the game with five saves. The Bison were out shot 16-7 in the game. The Vandals had just six shots on goal to three for the Bison.
• Kelsey Kallio had a shot saved in the 13th minute and Jess Hanley had a shot sail over the right corner of the crossbar in the 41st minute for the best two looks of the first half for NDSU.
• In the second half, Hanley had another scoring opportunity, with her shot in the 48th minute kept out of the net with a save by an Idaho defender.
• Alicia Nead would have another strong scoring chance saved in the 63rd minute, while freshman Katie Pagel had the last strong

 
The Series with Baylor

• Sunday's matchup between the Bison and Bears will be just the second all-time meeting between the two schools and the first meeting in more than a decade.
• In the only other meeting, which came in August of 2009, the Bison tied Baylor in a scoreless draw in Waco, Texas.

 
About Baylor

• Like the Bison, Baylor comes into Sunday's matchup on the heels of a 1-0 defeat on Thursday night in the season opener. The Bears are coming off of a loss on the road at Minnesota.
• The 2021 season marks the 25th anniversary of the Baylor Soccer program and the ninth season under head coach Paul Jobson.
• The Bears return close to their whole roster from the 2020 season that featured plenty of twists and turns along the way due to COVID-19. Every starter returns for BU to give the Bears plenty of experience across the field.
• Baylor finished the conference slate of 2020 tied for fourth place in the league with a 3-3-3 record. Six of those results were shutouts by Baylor's Jennifer Wandt, who returns between the pipes for the Bears. The Brookfield, Wisc., native became the program's all-time leader in career shutouts with 32 as she posted seven clean sheets a season ago.
• Joining Wandt on this year's Preseason All-Big 12 team is Taylor Moon. Moon led the attack for BU a year ago with six goals.

 
Last Time Against Baylor

• Sophomore goalkeeper Kalani Bertsch made 11 saves to help the Bison earn a 0-0 double overtime draw with Baylor on Friday, Aug. 28, 2009.
• Bertsch led the Bison defense to the shutout, earning her fourth career clean sheet.  The Bison were tested early as Baylor took five shots in a 10 minute stretch, but Bertsch made four saves and the defense also cleared a shot.  The teams went into halftime deadlocked at 0-0.
• The second half was evenly matched, but Baylor made a push at the end of regulation, taking three shots, including one just before the whistle.  Bertsch and the Bison were up to the task and sent the game to overtime.
• Both teams had one good chance in overtime.  Bertsch made a big save, and then Megan Dean had a shot cleared off the goal line in the second overtime period.

 
Lovick, Schneider named Summit League Players to Watch

• Olivia Lovick and Ellie Schneider were tabbed as players to watch in the Summit League.
• Lovick was named to the 2020 Summit League All-Newcomer team after leading the Bison with 14 points and six goals scored, playing in all 16 matches, including 13 starts as a freshman. She had a season-high five shots against South Dakota State and her four points against Western Illinois were the second-most in a match for the Bison last season.
• Schneider played a team-best 1,260 minutes last season, recording two game-winning goals. The senior started all 16 matches and was third on the team with seven points this spring.

 
Picked Fifth in Summit League

• North Dakota State was picked fifth in the Summit League preseason coaches' poll, announced by the league on Tuesday. The Bison received 44 points in the vote, slotting them into the same position they closed the 2020-21 season conducted this past spring.
• The Bison are coming off of a 7-8-1 campaign in the Summit League in the spring, which featured season sweeps of Omaha and Western Illinois, as well as wins against Kansas City, North Dakota and Oral Roberts.
• Denver, who won the regular season and conference tournament, along with making a trip to the NCAA Tournament second round, was picked first in a unanimous selection. South Dakota State was picked second, receiving one first place vote (coaches can not vote for own team) and was selected second in every other poll.
• Omaha (62 points) edged out South Dakota (58) for third, while Kansas City came in sixth behind the Bison with 37 points.

 
The Future is Now

• As North Dakota State begins the 2021 season, the Bison bring back a wealth of experience, with 174 of the 176 starts in the spring returning.
• The Bison return 17 of the 20 goals from last season, including four freshman goal scorers (Olivia Lovick, Jess Hanley, Kelsey Kallio and Aliya Owens) that combined for half of the goals, finding the back of the net 10 times in 16 games.
• The group of four freshman goal scorers, along with fellow freshman Katrina Patscot and Abby Wilkinson, combined for 15 of NDSU's 24 assists on the season.  
• In total, the Bison return 17 of 20 goals and 23 of 24 assists. The senior core of Ellie Schneider, Brookelyn Dew and Danielle Algera all had two goals each last season and tallied six total assists.

 
The Rookies

• The 2021 summer saw the arrival of six true freshman who join Mike Regan's fourth edition of the Bison women's soccer program.
• Josie Fieldman, a midfielder from Minnetonka, Minn.; Bella Grandbois, a forward/midfielder from New Hope, Minn.; Katie Pagel, a defender from Aurora, Colo.; Gabby Sangillo, a midfielder from Goodyear, Ariz.; Loretta Wacek, a forward from St. Paul, Minn.; and Olivia Watson, a forward from Moorhead, Minn. all have settled in to Fargo and the women's soccer program.
• All six freshman signed for the Bison on signing day in November of 2020.
• Pagel, Grandbois, Sangillo and Watson made their debut for the Bison in the season opener against Idaho. All four came off the bench as substitutes. Watson led the rookies with 37 minutes in the opener, while Pagel had a shot sail just over the crossbar in the final 10 minutes.

 
The Transfer

• With a bulk of the spring 2020 squad returning and six true freshman joining the Bison, Regan and staff welcomed in just one transfer this summer, Payton Jo Armijo.
• Armijo joins the Bison from Cal State Northridge, where the Bakersfield, California native appeared in 34 matches over two seasons as a midfielder. She has a goal and three career assists, logging over 1500 minutes during her time with the Matadors.
• Armijo made her debut for the Bison in the season opener, starting in the midfield for Regan's squad against Idaho. She played 68 minutes in the game.

 
Schneider Named to CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team

• Defender Ellie Schneider was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team in June, following her performance in the classroom and on the pitch this spring. Schneider is the first Bison since 2011 to be selected to the team.
• Starting all 16 games for the Bison during the spring season, Schneider was third on the team with seven points. She recorded two goals and three assists. Schneider scored the game-winning goals against Western Illinois (Feb. 19) and Omaha (Feb. 28) and has a 3.96 GPA in Biological Science.

 
Lovick, Hanley Return Looking to Build On Summit League All-Newcomer Team Honors

• Olivia Lovick and Jess Hanley were named to the Summit League All-Newcomer team this spring.
• Lovick led the Bison with six goals on the season, while also being the team leader in points with 14. Of her 24 shots on the season, 12 came on goal. She also added a pair of assists. Lovick ranked seventh in the Summit League with six goals and seventh with 14 points.
• Hanley finished the year with two goals and five assists, tying the team lead in assists. She ranked second on the team with nine points. Hanley ranked fifth in the league in assists.
• It is the eighth time NDSU has had multiple selections to the Summit League All-Newcomer or All-Freshman team.
• Heading into the fall 2021 season, NDSU has five former all-newcomer or all-freshman team selections on the roster, including Lovick, Hanley, Danielle Algera (2017), Lavin Douglass (2019) and McKenna Strand (2019).

 
Head Coach Mike Regan

• Mike Regan is in his fourth season at the head coach of the Bison. Regan was named head women's soccer coach at North Dakota State on Jan. 19, 2018.
• The Bison have had five All-Summit League selections in Regan's first three years, including four first team selections.
• NDSU has also had four All-Summit League Freshman Team/All-Newcomer Team selections and two Summit League All-Tournament Team picks.
• In 2019, Monica Polgar was named to the United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-Region Team and was picked for the Summit League All-Academic Team.
• 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.
• 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 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.
• He holds a National 'A' Coaching License from the United States Soccer Federation.

 
On the Horizon

• The Bison will hit the road for the first time in the 2021 regular season, as NDSU heads to Boise, Idaho for the first of two neutral-site matchups next week, taking on Pacific on Thursday. Kickoff is slated for 3 p.m. CT/2 p.m. MT. NDSU will also face Dixie State in Boise on Sunday.