NDSU Stays Undefeated at Home Against IUPUI

The NDSU women’s soccer team has allowed few points on defense all year, and that level of play certainly didn’t change Sunday. The Bison beat out the IUPUI Jaguars at the Ellig Sports Complex 1-0. Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Sierra Bonham had six saves in the game, five of those being in the second half, helping NDSU shutout IUPUI.

The Bison experienced similar troubles with scoring. Neither team scored a goal until the final minute of the game.

“I certainly felt we had some chances to win the game,” NDSU head coach Mark Cook said. “I was anxious for a while. When you get those chances, sometimes something bad happens, so I was a little concerned they would sneak one.”

NDSU stayed aggressive throughout the game. They lead the Jaguars in shots and shots on goal, with a margin of two in both categories. This paid off by the end of the game.

With less than 60 seconds remaining, junior forward Katie Tallas took a shot for the win, but IUPUI goalkeeper Giselle Guzman saved it. The ball bounced off the top cross bar of the goal, fell back down, and that’s when sophomore forward Tristyn Walczack hustled from behind and took the game winning shot for NDSU.

“I just got on my horse and just ran as fast as I could,” Walczack said. “I was in the right place at the right time.”

That goal gave the Bison the first lead of the game, and there wasn’t enough time for IUPUI to make a comeback. NDSU finished the game 1-0 for the win.

“Call us the cardiac kids,” Cook said with a smile. “Teams that continue to compete and battle find ways to win and that’s what we did today.”

The Bison will play their last two home games of the regular season against South Dakota on Friday and Kansas City on Sunday. NDSU currently has a record of 6-8, 3-2 in the Summit League, and still have yet to lose at home.

“It’s great,” Cook said. “We knew we needed six points this week and we got all six. Now we just need to get back to the training field, get ready for next week, and go for six more.”

Quotes courtesy of GoBison.com