NDSU vs. South Dakota State University – September 17, 2005

The Bison dropped their first game of the year in a hard-fought 3-2 loss to SDSU in Fargo. NDSU got off to a slow start in the first half, and the talented Jackrabbits team took full advantage of it. While the Bison weren’t able to complete most of their passes early on, SDSU used quick passing and speed to counter-attack and create solid opportunities. SDSU cashed in on an opportunity 17 minutes into the game, when miscommunication by the NDSU midfield and defense caused a breakaway for a Jackrabbit forward. He neatly put the ball past Bison keeper Nate Fitterer for a 1-0 lead. Just three minutes later, SDSU struck again. After Bison defender Jared Misialek challenged a Jackrabbit pass, the ball took a fortunate bounce for SDSU to provide an odd man rush. The quick SDSU forwards took advantage of the situation and quickly crossed the ball to a wide open forward who tapped it in to move the lead to 2-0. With about 10 minutes left in the first half and the Bison being thoroughly outplayed by SDSU, coach Eric Thompson decided to change the offensive alignment from 4-4-2 to 4-3-3 to try and take advantage of the fact that NDSU has 3 solid forwards in Nate Shubert, Eric Stanley and Selam Ahmed. The decision immediately paid off as NDSU played markedly better for the remainder of the first half. It appeared that NDSU pulled closer when Dan Salyards sent a beautiful cross to Selam Ahmed, and Ahmed sent the ball into the net. However, the ball was just out of reach of Selam’s header and he used the old Diego Maradona “Hand of God” trick to tap the ball in with his hand. Unfortunately, unlike in the Argentina game all those years ago, the referee wasn’t fooled and the goal was disallowed. The scored remained 2-0 at halftime, but the Bison didn’t let the score line remain that way for long. Just 6 minutes into the second half, Ahmed scored a legitimate goal thanks to one of the many great crosses sent all day by midfielder Fernando Bales. The Bison kept the pressure up and tried to get the equalizer, but in the 68th minute SDSU stuck again thanks to their excellent counter attacking. A Jackrabbit midfielder got behind the defense and sent a nice cross to an open teammate, who headed the ball into the net to regain a two goal lead for SDSU. However, the Bison didn’t give up, and with 10 minutes left, they pulled to within 1 goal again. Ahmed finished off a great series of passing to Eric Stanley, who put a right footed shot into the back of the net. This energized the Bison and although they tried once again to get the equalizer, SDSU withstood the pressure and hung on for the victory. The loss dropped the Bison’s record to 2-1-2, while SDSU moved to 3-0-1 on the season.