NDSU vs. University of Minnesota-Crookston – September 7, 2008

The Bison’s second game of 2008 came on a Sunday afternoon against the University of Minnesota-Crookston. As the temperature dropped and the wind picked up, a mixture of pouring rain, light mist, and intense sunlight colored the pitch. NDSU came in as the heavy favorite, but they had a relatively slow start against the Golden Eagles as two of their three first half goals came on penalty kicks. Luanga Njoya and Rob Choiniere both hit their shots convincingly; Luanga with sheer power, Rob with seasoned finesse. Between the two penalties was a goal from Freshman Conrad Olson, who brought down a corner from Taylor Zimmerman and stuffed it in the goal.

After a halftime break, the Bison came out strong. Zach Peters scored the fourth goal of the match on an assist by David Fischer. After that, Njoya scored his second of the match. Then, after a defensive breakdown by the Bison that led to Crookston’s lone goal, NDSU retaliated with a flurry of late goals including one from Freshmen John Plambeck, who was assisted by stopper Nate Engel, and Will Schoer, who hit a nearly impossibly angled shot from the left side of the goal. The final score of 8–1 meant that the Bison had started their first weekend off undefeated at 2-0-0. UMC fell to 0-2-0.