LORMAN, Miss. – Following the 1-0 loss vs. Bemidji State last Sunday, the resounding message throughout the locker room and the coaching staff was anger and the resolve to not let that happen again. Flash forward just seven days and the Fighting Hawks followed through with that message, striking for 12 goals in a 12-0 triumph over Alcorn State.
 
"The team was angry about the result against Bemidji last Sunday and all week they were talking about responding in the right manner," said Head Coach Chris Logan. "Today, a lot of that anger came out on the field and Alcorn just happened to be up against a team that was extremely motivated, dedicated, and willing to do whatever it takes to get the result."
 
The 12 goals set a new school record for tallies in a single game, eclipsing the previous high of nine from Sept. 3, 2000 against Minnesota-Crookston. The Fighting Hawks (6-1-1) also tallied nine assists on the afternoon which eclipses the previous school record of eight, last set on Sept. 13, 2003 vs. Jamestown.
 
"Our attack was great today," stressed Logan. Our build out play and composure was excellent, and it was great to see a variety of goals from many different players. When we play with this type of aggression and motivation, we are extremely dangerous and we hope to keep this momentum as we go forward. 6-1-1 is an incredible start to the season; hopefully this continues as it's been a lot of fun so far!"
 
Cassie Giddings scored a trio of goals and added an assist for a seven-point game. The hat trick is the second of the season for the Hawks, only the third time in program history that UND recorded multiple hat tricks in a season. The freshman striker joins Katie Moller with the three-goal contests this season.
 
Moller, the conference's leading scorer, added another pair to her lead while also chipping in two assists for a six-point afternoon. The six points are a new career high for the senior striker and now moves just three goals away from becoming the leading scorer in the Division I era (2008-present) for UND.
 
Two freshman also scored their first goals in a UND uniform on Sunday as Emma Bangert and Olivia Knox both found the back of the net for the first time. Transfer Sarah Doran also struck for the first time in her collegiate career after joining the Hawks from Omaha.
 
While the offense takes a majority of the headlines, Olivia Swenson continues to do her thing in the cage for UND. The senior recorded her seventh shutout of the season, tied for the single-season record at UND just eight games into the campaign. Swenson finished with three saves while Jacqueline Wells closed the game out by playing the final 15:36.
 
UND opened the game with an attack-first mentality, firing multiple shots towards the keeper to start the game before finally breaking through in the 11th minute. Moller received a pass from Giddings and rocketed a shot into the near corner from the right side of the box to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead.
 
Fast forward to the 19th minute and UND struck again with its aggressive play after Swenson made a pair of saves to keep the advantage at one. With the Braves in full possession, Giddings intercepted a goal kick and scored into the lower left corner to again turn defense into offense and quickly double the lead for the visitors.
 
The Hawks would not let up, however, needing only 1:08 of elapsed time to strike again. Karly Sandoval placed a perfect through ball onto the feet of Giddings and the freshman danced around the goalkeeper and scored again for a 3-0 lead. The 1:08 between goals is the eighth-fastest back-to-back goals in program history and the fastest back-to-back tallies by the same player in UND history.
 
Veronica Kessler got in on the scoring action late in the first half when the senior struck a shot from the center of the box that found its way into the left side of the cage to make it 4-0 UND in the 36th minute.
 
The Hawks scored one final time in the first half when Bangert tallied her first-collegiate goal on a shot from the edge of the box off an assist from Ashley Ebeling to send UND to the locker room with a 5-0 cushion.
 
Coming out of the halftime break, UND continued to attack offensively. Sandoval struck for the second straight game when her strike from distance eluded the keeper and rolled into the back of the net to extend the lead to 6-0.
 
Just 58 seconds later, Giddings polished off the hat trick when Megan Wright centered the ball into the box and the freshman deflected it home to make it 7-0. Those back-to-back tallies are the fifth fastest in program history as Giddings became only the eighth-different player to reach the three-goal plateau in a game.
 
Moller struck again in the 65th minute when Alex Lee found the senior in the middle of the offensive zone with a ball and Moller deposited it into the lower left corner for an 8-0 advantage.
 
Doran made it 9-0 Hawks with her first-collegiate tally following another great centering pass by Ebeling and the transfer sophomore slammed it home from 8-yards out in the 69th minute.
 
The sophomore was not done contributing to the offense as Doran passed it off to Wright at the top of the box and the freshman blistered it into the lower right corner to put UND into double figures for the first time in program history.
 
In the 84th minute, Knox scored a beautiful goal off an assist from Moller as the rookie placed a shot from the left side of the box into the far corner for her first-collegiate strike and an 11-0 advantage.
 
Emma Contino scored her second goal of the season in the final minutes as Moller drove down the right side and fed a pass to the wide-open Contino who polished off the 12-0 victory.
 
North Dakota returns to action this Friday at 12:30 p.m. against Portland from East Grand Forks Senior High to close out the non-conference season.