NDSU at
The Bison traveled to Brookings and handed the Jackrabbits their first loss of the season with a 2-0 victory. The game started out rather conservatively for both teams. SDSU took a couple of shots at the NDSU net early on, but none of the shots were within 25 yards thanks to the organized defense of Sham Funk, Josh Sanderson, Kellen Nesvig, Jared Misialek and Bob Smith. Bison goalkeeper Nate Fitterer played a great overall game by making a couple of early saves and squelching SDSU opportunities by getting off his line quickly. About halfway through the first half, NDSU took a less cautious approach and started to play more offensive-minded. The Bison were able to create a couple of opportunities by working the sides of the field, but they were unable to get a shot on net until the 38th minute of the game. Fortunately for NDSU, it was a great shot – forward and team co-captain Nate Shubert received a crossing pass and tapped it back to Brad Bateman, who put a well-placed blast into the lower left corner of the SDSU net. The goal seemed to energize the Bison, and they struck again five minutes later. Reserve defender Mike Adams made a quick run up the field and found Thomas Larson streaking up the left side of the pitch. Larson sent an absolutely wonderful left footed shot from about 25 yards out into the upper corner to give the Bison a 2-0 halftime lead. SDSU came out with an incredible amount of energy and pressured every ball to begin the second half, but the Bison were able to weather the attack and prevent the Jackrabbits from producing any quality chances on net. The second half proved to be much more of an up-and-down affair, with both teams sending more players vertically on the ball. However, neither team was able to strike on their opportunities while the Bison held on for the win. The victory improved NDSU’s record to 6-3-2 on the season while SDSU fell to 5-1-4.