TULSA, Okla. -- Pod A No. 1-seed North Dakota State knocked off Pod A No. 3 South Dakota 1-0 on Thursday afternoon at the Case Soccer Complex. With the win, the Bison advance to the Summit League Tournament championship game for the first time since 2017.

Offensive Player of the Year Morgan Russmann scored the opener for the Bison, controling a Hannah Arnold pass before a strike while losing her balance found the back of the net in the 24th minute. 

The shot was one of 10 taken by the Bison in the first half, outshooting the Coyotes 10-3 while putting eight on net compared to two by USD. Cambell Fischer made seven saves in the half to keep the Coyotes within a goal. 

The second half saw chances on both sides as Payton Mulberry made four saves and Fischer made one more of her own. The biggest scare for the Bison came in the 76th minute when a free kick off the foot of Klarissa Vega from just outside the box hit off the cross bar before being cleared out.  

Mulberry closed her league-tying eighth clean sheet of the season with one more save in the 88th minute. She finished with six saves on the day while Fischer finished with eight in a game highlighted by goalkeeping.  

The Bison will play the winner of Oral Roberts and St. Thomas on Sunday at 1 p.m. CT in Tulsa, Okla. 

Turning Point 
Russmann took a pass from Hannah Arnold and ran to the top of the box before finding the far side for the game-winning goal. 

Inside the box score 
NDSU held a 14-11 advantage in shots, including 9-6 in shots on goal. 
Fischer's seven first-half saves tied her season-best for saves in a half.  

News & Notes 
With the win, the Bison snapped a four-match tournament winless streak dating back to the 2017 championship match.   
Sunday will mark the sixth Summit League Championship match to feature the Bison, the 2010 tournament champions.  

#SummitWSOC