NDSU vs. Minnesota State University-Moorhead – October 20, 2004

The Bison swept the season series against rival MSU-Moorhead by edging the Dragons in a 2-1 victory at Johnson soccer complex in Fargo. NDSU played another well-disciplined game, combining skilled passing and strong defense to get an important conference victory. The game started out with both teams playing fairly well, and the Bison were able to start controlling the flow of play after both teams had settled in. NDSU attacked well by stringing quick passes together down the side of the field followed by crossing the ball in front of the net. After a few narrowly missed opportunities, the Bison struck first (a common theme for NDSU this season) in the 18th minute of the game. Nate Chandler and Dave Witham connected on an incredible series of passes, culminating with Witham crossing the ball in front to Tim Pohfal. Pohfal sent a great shot to the bottom right corner of the net to put the Bison up 1-0. NDSU controlled the majority of play for the rest of the first half, allowing only two shots on goalkeeper Ian Costello in the opening 45 minutes. With two minutes remaining in the first half, Costello collected the ball in his penalty area and sent the ball down the field with a long kick. After the ball took a big bounce, Nathan Shubert sped past the MSUM defense and beat the Dragon keeper to the ball, heading it in and giving NDSU goalkeeper Costello credit for an assist. The Bison played well in the second half with their 2-0 lead, but were unable to score again. The Dragon defense stopped some opportunities, but many Bison players held onto the ball much too long before shooting or passing to notch another goal. NDSU’s defensive unit played much better than their performance against Northern State University the previous game. With midfielder Brad Bateman out for the rest of the regular season due to an ankle injury and defender Bob Smith serving a one game suspension for a red card, the Bison defense of Jeff Maas, Josh Sanderson, Sham Funk and Andrew Gustafson played very well together. Dan Salyards also provided some excellent play off the bench in both midfield and defensive positions. MSUM was finally able to get on the board in the 82nd minute, when the Dragons put in a very nice uncontested shot from about 25 yards out just over Costello’s reach. The Bison held on in the final minutes to secure the victory. NDSU currently stands alone in first place in the Great Plains Soccer Conference with a 9-2 record (10-4 overall). Minnesota State University-Moorhead’s conference record dropped to 6-4-1 with the loss.