GRAND FORKS, N.D. – For the second time in as many exhibition games, North Dakota struggled through the first half of the game. And for the second time, the Fighting Hawks found their footing and turned a dominant second half into a 1-0 shutout victory.
Senior Savannah Sibold scored the lone goal and three UND goalkeepers combined for a five-save shutout, lifting the Fighting Hawks past Bemidji State tonight at Bronson Field.
Much like in Saturday's 1-0 victory over Jamestown, UND was unable to generate a consistent attack in the first of three 30-minute periods. The Beavers held a 10-6 edge in shots on goal in the first period but were unable to solve UND starting goalkeeper Olivia Swenson (3 saves).
Halfway through the second period, UND head coach Chris Logan sent his second unit into the game and the group provided an immediate spark. With just under 10 minutes left in the second period, Sibold knocked home a Veronica Kessler rebound to break the scoreless deadlock.
The host Fighting Hawks largely dominated from that point on, holding a 16-4 edge in shot attempts over the final two periods. The bottom line showed a second shutout win in as many exhibition games heading into Friday's regular-season opener at North Dakota State.
“They changed the game,” said Logan of his second group. “They had a lot more belief, a lot more passion, a lot more energy, and from there we really did kind of control the game.”
Sibold agreed with her head coach's assessment.
“I think we had better energy in the second and third period,” said Sibold. “As the energy and focus came together, we became a team.”
While Logan has implored his charges to push the pace and attack aggressively throughout the preseason, the first-year UND head coach readily admits that the adjustment will not happen overnight for a program that won two games a year ago.
“It seems more like on an individual basis there's not quite the belief and the confidence in themselves yet,” said Logan, “and that was something we really felt was a hindrance in the first half. I think the first 30 minutes they were the better team and but for some really good goalkeeping by Olivia Swenson, we probably would've been a couple goals down.”
Exhibitions or not, Logan emphasized the impact of his team seeing their work pay off in the form of a pair of wins heading into Friday's rivalry tilt.
“I think it's important, especially today,” said Logan. “We didn't play well for probably about 40 or 45 minutes and we still managed to grind it out. I think that's important for the belief and the confidence. And it's important for us as a staff as well because we need to figure out what our best group's going to be, what our best system's going to be and we learned a lot tonight.”
Sibold, one of the team's senior leaders, said her team has been able to power through the mental and physical grind of fall camp and the preseason, a crucial hurdle for the team's development.
“Our legs are pretty tired after preseason,” said the Phoenix, Ariz., native. “We were struggling at first and all I can say is I'm really happy how we ended, because this is putting the throttle on.”
UND will tangle with longtime rival NDSU on Friday at 7 p.m. in Fargo.
Notes: Goalkeepers Swenson (3 saves), Catherine Klein (1 save) and Jacqueline Wells (1 save) each played one full 30-minute period for UND … The Fighting Hawks had an 11-5 advantage in shots on goal … Logan was able to get 27 of his players into the game, with 13 of them registering a shot attempt and 10 getting credit for a shot on goal.
