THIBODAUX, La. – Entering the second year under the helm of Head Coach Chris Logan and the inaugural campaign in The Summit League, the University of North Dakota soccer team sent a message to the rest of the conference with a dominating 3-0 victory over Nicholls State on Friday afternoon in Thibodaux, La.
 
UND (1-0-0) struck for a pair of goals in the game's opening minutes and added a third in the second half to polish off the largest season-opening win in the Division I era.
 
"Overall it's a good start and we did well against a strong opponent," said Logan on his team's effort. "Moving forward we want to concede a few less chances and get control of the ball a little more. Got great effort and an exciting beginning!"
 
It took only 60 seconds for Cassie Giddings to etch her name into the UND record book as the rookie tapped in a beautiful cross from Mimi Eiden just a minute into the game for her first-career goal and quickly giving the Fighting Hawks the lead. The tally is the third-fastest goal to begin a game in UND history, trailing only Stephanie Pfeiffer (2003) and Katie Moller (2017).
 
Less than eight minutes later the visitors found the back of the net again as Eiden provided another long ball over the heads of the defenders where Moller collected the pass, made a move around the keeper, and deposited her first strike of the season to increase the lead to 2-0 just 8:27 into the contest. The senior's goal moves her into a tie with Jenna Barr for seventh all-time at North Dakota with 17, and has now scored in five of her last seven regular season games dating back to last season.
 
UND continued to control the play for much of the first half, holding the Colonels to just one shot in the opening 27 minutes of play. The hosts finally put together its best scoring change of the opening 45 minutes when Haylee Atwell's look off a corner was denied by Olivia Swenson on the senior's finest save of the afternoon.
 
"It's always a good start to the season when you score some goals and get the shutout," said Logan. "We scored great goals early in the game which was awesome. After that we lost our way a little and Olivia had to make a great save to preserve the lead."
 
The Fighting Hawks did not sit back on their lead in the second half, quickly turning a two-goal cushion into three when Kennedy Kidd used her body to deflect Moller's corner kick into the cage in the 57th minute.
 
Just over 50 ticks later, UND nearly made it 4-0 when Giddings was awarded a penalty kick following a foul in the box; however, the freshman's kick was saved by Roosa, Hurmerinta to keep the Colonels within striking distance.
 
"We scored early in the second half to give ourselves breathing room and were unfortunate not to score a penalty so our attack was dangerous," preached Logan on the team's attack mentality in the second half.
 
Swenson made two more stops and received some help from the iron late in the match to preserve the clean sheet and help lift UND to victory.
 
North Dakota will look to begin the season 2-0-0 in back-to-back years for the first time since 2007 on Sunday when the Fighting Hawks battle Southern University at 1 p.m. in Baton Rouge.
 
NOTES: Friday's victory marks the third consecutive year that UND has not conceded a goal in its season opener … Moller (G, A), Eiden (2A), Kidd (G), and Gibbings (G) mark the first time since Oct. 9, 2016 vs. Southern Utah that four players recorded multiple points in a game … The 3-0 win is the largest season-opening win in the DI era … Swenson's shutout was the fourth of her career, tying her with Becky Gunderson (1999) for seventh all-time at UND … Kidd's goal was her first since Oct. 4, 2015 vs. Idaho State and third of her career … Under Chris Logan, UND moves to 3-3-3 in non-conference play … The Fighting Hawks finished with a 15-12 shot advantage, including a 7-5 lead in shots on goal.