Heading into this past Thursday, the Bison were riding a two-game winning streak in conference play. They hosted Oral Roberts at Dacotah Field for a Summit League showdown to test that win streak. Coming into this matchup, Oral Roberts was 2-0-1 in conference play. The Bison were 2-0-1 in conference play, so it was bound to be a great match. As we have seen so many times throughout the 2024 season, the Bison defense flexed its muscles in this one as well. Oral Roberts did score the first goal of that match 5 minutes into the second half after an uneventful 1st half. A bit later into the second half, the Bison responded with a goal from sophomore forward Ava Stanchina, assisted by freshman Morgan Russman. With just eight minutes remaining in the match, Morgan Russman scored a goal of her own to take the lead and take the win over Oral Roberts in a 2-1 final. The Bison advanced to 3-0-1 in conference play and 7-4-1 overall.
Their next match would come this past Sunday on the road at Denver. Denver was 2-1-1 heading into this one, and the Bison were 3-0-1, so the winner of this one would take the commanding lead for third place in the conference. The first half had more action than the last match against Oral Roberts, as 32 minutes into the match, Olivia Watson scored her fourth goal of the season to go up 1-0. Just one minute later, Ella Frost tied it up for Denver, which is what the lead would be at the half. The second half didn’t see any scoring until there were 10 minutes remaining. After a penalty review, Ella Frost was awarded a penalty kick, with which she would score her second goal of the match, and that would end up being the final in a 2-1 loss for the Bison. The Bison fell to 3-1-1 in conference play and are sitting in fourth place in the Summit League.
The Summit League is in a very tight race with just two weeks to go in the regular season. The standings are as follows: #1 South Dakota State, #2 Omaha, #3 Denver, #4 North Dakota State, #5 Oral Roberts, #6 South Dakota, #7 Kansas City, #8 North Dakota, and #9 St. Thomas. Around the Summit League, freshman Morgan Russman still leads the Summit League in shots and shots on goal. She also is in second place in total goals, right behind Ella Frost of Denver, who scored two goals against the herd on Sunday. NDSU’s goalie Peyton Mulberry is still tied for first in total shutouts in the league, with 4 tied with St. Thomas’s Olivia Rowe.
The Bison now average 1.46/goals per match scored and average 1.07/goals per match allowed. The Bison will head into their final stretch of conference play with rivals South Dakota State, who sit atop the Summit League with a 3-0-1 record in conference play, remaining the last undefeated team in the league at 10-2-1 overall. The Bison host the Jacks this Thursday at 6 p.m. at Dacotah Field and much like when NDSU played UND this year, the same weekend that same football matchup takes place. Following that, they host South Dakota on Sunday at 1 p.m. followed by a home match against St Thomas at 1 p.m. Sunday the 27th to conclude the regular season. The Herds’ next three opponents combine for a 4-5-4 conference record, and three of those four wins are owned by SDSU. The Bison should be able to win at least two of these next three and possibly sneak into a top 2 seed in the tournament for a bye.