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NDSU vs. South Dakota School of Mines & Technology – September 24, 2006

The Bison picked up a convincing 8-1 victory over the SDSMT Hardrockers on a sunny Sunday morning in Fargo. NDSU controlled play for the vast majority of the game, working together very well and finishing off opportunities. The Bison scored the first goal of the game in the 13th minute. Forward Selam Ahmed sent a great pass to Yousif Ramses at the top of the box, and Ramses scored the first goal of his collegiate career. Just 3 minutes later, another Bison player scored his first goal of the season. Ahmed sent an excellent cross to Dan Salyards, who fired a shot past the SDSMT keeper to make the score 2-0. The Bison seemed to get a little complacent with their lead for the rest of the first half, and the intensity level dropped slightly. However, NDSU picked it up right before halftime and scored again in the 42nd minute. Ahmed picked up his third straight assist by making a nice run up the field and dishing off a well-timed pass to Brent Nelson, who snuck the ball just inside the near post to give the Bison a 3-0 halftime lead.

NDSU didn’t let up in the second half and scored just two minutes into the second stanza. Midfielder Garett Johnson distributed a nice through ball to NDSU captain Brad Bateman. Bateman made a couple of crafty moves past the Hardrocker defense and finished it off with a low, hard shot to give the Bison a 4-0 lead. Six minutes later, NDSU notched another goal when Ramses sent a cross from the right side to the front of the net. After a brief scramble in front of the net, Dmitri Barabanov got to the ball and put it in. In the 60th minute, Ahmed got a goal to go along with his 3 assists. After taking a punt directly from NDSU goalkeeper Tom Erickson, Ahmed made a couple of nifty 1-on-1 moves and walked in a goal. Just a minute later, NDSU had one of their few defensive breakdowns of the game and SDSMT took advantage. The Hardrockers were able to get a forward alone behind the Bison defenders and he put a solid shot into the right side of the net past Erickson. NDSU rebounded and scored 12 minutes later. Defender Bob Smith got off a rocket of a shot that was saved by the SDSMT keeper, but Ardy Mahinfalah was there to put in the rebound. In the 84th minute, Nelson scored the final goal of the game after an excellent through pass from Barabanov. The victory gives the Bison a 5-1-1 record on the year while the Hardrockers fell to 2-3.