NDSU at
The Bison traveled to St. Paul to take on their toughest
opponent of the season, the University of Minnesota Gold team. The Gophers, coached by regional soccer camp
coordinator Alan Merrick, are one of the most talented club teams in the nation
and are a perennial threat to win the national tournament. The game started with the Gophers playing
with a lot of pace and trying to establish their game physically, and the Bison
held up fairly well throughout the first 15 minutes. Minnesota struck first in the 17th minute from a cross
on the right side of the field. Viktor
Adamscek, the Gophers’ leading scorer on the season, put a great diving header
into the net to give the Gophers a lead.
Minnesota continued to pressure the Bison defense and scored again in
the 23rd minute. Off of a
free kick, the ball went just over NDSU defender Sham Funk’s head that led to a
scramble in front of the net. Adamscek
put the ball away with a half volley to extend the lead to 2-0. The Bison created a couple of opportunities in
the first half, but they were unable to find the critical touch on the ball to
get a solid shot off as the Gopher defense quickly cleared the ball away. NDSU was able to connect a few passes here
and there to move the ball up the field, but when it came to getting a solid
cross or shot off, they missed the mark.
In the 37th minute, Minnesota struck again off of a corner
kick. A Gopher forward posted up just
off of the near post and won the header, flicking it past NDSU keeper Nate
Fitterer for the third goal of the game.
Just before half, Gopher defender Brian Dobson made a run up the left
side of the field and blasted a shot on net from about 20 yards out. The hard shot somehow snuck past Fitterer
into the upper left corner to give Minnesota a 4-0 lead at halftime. The Bison were discouraged with their first
half play, but they came out fighting harder in the second half. Minnesota still controlled the majority of
the play by winning most balls in the air and making quick passes down the
field, but the Bison were definitely much more aggressive in the second half
and were able to stop most of Minnesota’s attacks. Fitterer came up big with a couple of nice sprawling saves to
keep the Gophers scoreless after halftime.
NDSU forward Nate Shubert and midfielder Ardy Mahinfalah had good
opportunities making runs up the center of the field, but the Minnesota keeper pounced
on the ball right before either player was able to make solid contact. Minnesota had a chance to extend their lead
late in the half when they drew a penalty kick, but the shot went just over the
crossbar. The second half remained
scoreless for both teams, and the game ended as a 4-0 victory for the
Gophers. The non-conference loss drops
NDSU’s overall record to 6-5-2 on the year, while the Minnesota Gold team
improved to 11-1 on the season.