NDSU at Augustana College – October 19, 2008

The air was surprisingly warm (one might say, a foreshadowing National Tournament Alabama warm) Sioux Falls Sunday, October 19th as NDSU took the field across from Augustana. One game away from a Conference Championship, the Bison knew that they had to get past the team that always seemed to find weaknesses in the Bison defense at the right times. Although Augustana was hovering around .500 on the 2008 campaign, the 2007 GPSC champions were not about to simply hand over the title to the Bison. However, NDSU was out to prove that today would be different. The first goal came roughly midway through the first half. Just as their goal in the second half would be, it was an atypical goal. A wide and low cross was fed into the box by midfielder Zach Peters. It skittered through a crowd, was glanced by midfielder Chris Garty, and finally trickled its way just inside the post for a goal! The half would end with the Bison leading 1–0.

The second half showed a bit more life from Augustana, but was basically dominated by NDSU. Their second and final goal would come indirectly from forward Tanner Naastad. From the left side, Naastad served a fast paced cross in front of the goal mouth. The cross was met by the head of an Augustana defender, but instead of being cleared, was directed right into the back of the net. The game ended with a 2–0 win, finishing the Bison’s regular season with two fantastic shutout wins and clinching the 2008 Great Plains Soccer Championship via a head-to-head tiebreaker over UND. The Bison’s final 2008 conference record stands at 9-1-2 while Augustana fell to 5-6-0.