Weber State (9.12.24) 

The Bison entered the week 3-2-2 with only three non-conference games remaining. On Thursday they took on the Weber State Wildcats at Dacotah Field. The Wildcats out of the Big Sky entered this game with a winless 0-5-3 record. The Bison came into this game with a very strong defense, averaging under 1 goal allowed per match in 0.75/match. The action didn’t take long to get started in this match which differs from their previous matches. Weber State hopped out to a 1-0 lead 23 minutes into the match from Sayler Schlosser. Just 5 minutes later, the Wildcats scored another goal to jump ahead 2-0 over the Bison, testing the stout defense of NDSU. 

The Bison responded with back-to-back goals within a 63-second window to tie the match at 2. But the Bison defense was no match for freshman Amanda Caswell as she scored consecutive goals to take a 4-2 lead, and that would eventually be the final for the Bison as they would drop to 3-3-2 on the season. The Wildcats led the match in shots with 16 shots compared with the Bison’s nine shots. The Bison defense was very strong through the first seven matches, but that didn’t show this time. The upside of this match was the offense. The offense scored the second most goals they have scored all season.

Minnesota (9.15.24)

The Bison sat with a 500 record in 3-3-2, coming into their final road non-conference contest against the University of Minnesota. The Bison were looking for a much-needed win as they had lost three of their last four matches, and that fourth match was a tie against Idaho State. The Bison entering this match were 0-8 all-time against Minnesota. This one differed from their previous match with Weber State as their defense returned to their stout ways, giving up just 1 goal. Unfortunately, this goal was the only score Minnesota needed to advance to 9-0 all-time against the Bison. The Bison lost 1-0 and were shut out for the fourth time this season in nine matches. They now average 1.11 goals/per match and average to give up 1.22 goals/per match. The defense continues to thrive, but it seems they can’t get their offense and defense to execute in the same match. 

Upcoming 

The Bison close out the non-conference schedule this Friday at 6:00 p.m. at Dacotah Field against Saint Ambrose, looking to gain some momentum heading into the conference schedule, which opens up Sept. 26th at Omaha, who are still undefeated at 6-0-2. The Bison are second to last in the Summit League in overall record, just ahead of the South Dakota Coyotes, who are 2-5-2.