(Photo Credit:Russ Hons-FightingHawks.com)

Today, UND came in just outside of the Summit League Tournament picture in sixth place. Seven goals and their biggest conference victory in the Division one era vaulted the Fighting Hawks right back into postseason contention. Katie Moller lead the way with four goals, establishing herself as the most prolific goal scorer for UND in its NCAA Division One existence. Olivia Knox started things off with two goals, further reinforcing her superb rise as a sensational goal-scoring freshman for UND, and Veronica Kessler contributed her second salvo of the season to provide the final goal scoring tally for UND. Deanna Hecht provided the sole goal for the Mastadons of Purdue Fort Wayne with 2:15 left in the game on a nice move and sensational finish.

How Did This Happen?

Well, look no further than shorts and shots on goal for UND. They finished with 15 shots on net in 90 minutes of play. The Fighting Hawks played relentless throughout the entire game. 80 percent of UND’s starting field players recorded at least one shot and all of UND was able to provide depth to their offensive game today. Even though she did not score, Mimi Eiden had another impressive game today. She came inches from scoring on a rebound but was ruled down on an offside call. As always, Eiden’s speed is a great asset for UND to have and has constantly helped her teammates in creating lanes for them to score. As for Moller, we are running out of adjectives to describe how good she is at scoring goals and generating offense. She contributed to five of the seven UND goals today. Moller had four goals and one assist and came very close to being the first UND soccer player to ever score five goals in one game on a few occasions.

Now What? 

UND has almost a week to get ready for superb Summit League side South Dakota State. They take on SDSU this Friday at home in their final home match of the season. Look for SDSU to challenge the back line of UND a bit more consistently than the Mastodons did today. As a result, look for the Fighting Hawks to try more of their same style. Expect them to take the play to SDSU and try to score early and defend as needed. If UND can compete with NDSU and almost win, then they can play with absolutely any team in the conference. Friday will be a fun matchup.