NDSU vs. University of Wisconsin-Stout

NDSU vs. University of Wisconsin-Stout – November 17, 2005

The Bison got their first victory in the national tournament in 3 years by routing the University of Wisconsin-Stout Blue Devils 5-1 on a chilly Thursday evening in Tuscaloosa. While everything seemed to go wrong for the Bison in the first game of the tournament, everything clicked in the second game. NDSU controlled the flow of play throughout the game and took advantage of the large field by spreading out the ball and making great decisions on their passes. Ten minutes into the game, NDSU got on the board off of a corner kick. Midfielder Rob Dow sent a perfect corner to Luke Rivard, who sent a great header off the post and in. The Bison continued to put pressure on the UW-Stout defense, while all Blue Devil opportunities were quickly swept away by the very organized NDSU back line. The Bison struck again in the 32nd minute, when Selam Ahmed found Pat Beaver streaking up the field. Beaver calmly put the ball past the UW-Stout keeper to put NDSU up by two goals. Just two minutes later, Dow stole the ball from the Blue Devil defense just outside the penalty area. He ripped an amazing left footed shot into the upper right corner of the net for NDSU’s third goal. Right before halftime, NDSU earned a free kick about 15 yards behind the center line. Sham Funk sent a flawless long ball to Nathan Shubert, who promptly dribbled past the keeper and scored to give the Bison a 4-0 halftime lead. The second half was more evenly played, thanks to NDSU’s low number of substitutes due to some players being unable to attend the tournament. However, the Bison defense and keeper Andrew Seaver kept the Blue Devils at bay until the very end of the game. In the 63rd minute, Shubert was taken down in the penalty area and NDSU was awarded a penalty kick. Funk blasted the shot into the net to put the game away. With just one minute left to play, UW-Stout finally got on the board after a scramble in front of the net. The win kept the Bison alive in pool play for Friday’s game against California-Berkeley.