NDSU vs. Northern State University – October 17, 2004

The Bison defeated the Northern State Wolves for the second time this season on a very chilly Sunday afternoon at Ellig Sports Complex in Fargo. Despite some shaky defensive play, the Bison prevailed 5-2. The first half was a shootout, as 6 of the game’s 7 goals were scored in the opening 45 minutes of play. NDSU got on the board first when Taylor Zimmerman sent a perfect crossing pass to Nathan Shubert, who headed it in to give the Bison a 1-0 lead in the 12th minute. Northern State equaled the score five minutes later, but NDSU took the lead for good in the 22nd minute when Tim Pohfal finished off an excellent pass from Nate Chandler. Shubert scored his second goal of the game on a through pass from Brad Bateman, his 13th of the season and 5th against NSU this year. Taylor Zimmerman added an unassisted goal in the 33rd minute to give NDSU a 4-1 lead, but Northern State took advantage of a Bison defensive error to score just before halftime. NDSU’s first half goalkeeper Scott Forester only faced four shots on net, stopping two, but all of them were with virtually no defense in front of him. Northern State received a red card late in the first half for malicious foul, giving the Bison a man advantage for the beginning of the second half. Unfortunately, NDSU’s Bob Smith was issued a red card midway through the second half. After another NDSU defensive miscue, a Northern State player broke towards the net with only second half goalkeeper Andy Tierney to beat. Smith caught up to the NSU player, but fouled him from behind in the process, warranting the ejection. The Bison remained unfazed by the unfortunate red card, allowing only one shot on net in the second half that was stopped by Tierney. With about 3 minutes left in the game, Chandler issued his second assist of the game to Zimmerman, who scored his second goal of the game and third goal of the year, all of which have been against Northern State. The victory (along with the forfeit of Saturday’s game by an injury-depleted SDSMT) moved NDSU’s overall record to 9-4 on the year, 8-2 in the Great Plains Soccer Conference. The loss dropped Northern State’s record to 2-7-2.