NDSU vs.
The Bison opened the 2006 at home with a rather
disappointing draw against the Augustana Vikings. Although NDSU dominated the majority of play,
poor finishing and one defensive lapse proved to be the difference between a
victory and the draw. The game began
with the Bison controlling the majority of play as the ball was in Augustana’s
half most of the time. NDSU was able to
connect with passes throughout the midfield, but their attack fell apart as
soon as they were in the last third of the field. Every time the Bison created a good scoring
chance, their touch failed them and the Augustana defense cleared the ball
out. The NDSU defense of Allen Wilkens,
Bob Smith, Kellen Nesvig and Jared Misialek prevented Augustana from
threatening at all, allowing no shots on goal in the scoreless first half.
The Bison opened the second half with better passing, and
Augustana stepped up the quality of their play as well. However, neither team could break through
until the 76th minute. NDSU forward
Taylor Zimmerman found Brad Bateman just inside the penalty area and Bateman
ripped a left footed shot past the Viking goalkeeper for the game’s first
goal. After a few more solid scoring
chances that the Bison couldn’t capitalize on, Augustana found the equalizer
with just 5 minutes left. The Vikings
made a run up the left side of the field and two Bison defenders converged on
the ball, leaving an Augustana forward wide open in front of the net. After a quick cross, the Viking forward put
the ball past goalkeeper Zach Schneider to tie the game. The draw put the records of both teams to
0-0-1 to start the year.