EAST GRAND FORKS, Minn. – The University of North Dakota soccer team fell, 1-0, to perennial NCAA powerhouse Portland on Friday afternoon at East Grand Forks Senior High.
 
Portland's (6-4-0) Taryn Ries broke a scoreless deadlock in the 68th minute when the forward headed a ball off a corner kick from Larkin Russell into the net for the game's only tally.
 
"Just couldn't put the ball in the net," said Head Coach Chris Logan on today's match. "We just competed against a really, really good team and had them hanging on. That's something that we can certainly build off of. I'm proud of the effort and the performance; we just didn't execute in front of the goal."
 
UND (6-2-1) turned up the offensive pressure as the game moved along, matching the Pilots in overall shots with 13 and leading 6-4 in shots on target.
 
"The nice thing that we showed today is that we can play with anybody," stressed Logan. "It's not as though we just sat and defended; we really went toe-to-toe. It's disappointing that we didn't get the result, but I'm happy with the way we played."
 
Olivia Swenson, who came into the afternoon as the NCAA's leader in goals against average and save percentage, was strong in the first half, making a trio of saves to keep the contest level. The senior's best stop came in the 23rd minute on a diving attempt by Hanna Armendariz close to the goal.
 
Portland, who has reached 21 NCAA Tournaments, eight College Cups, and won a pair of national titles, controlled play for a majority of the first half with nine total shots to UND's two.
 
In the second half, it was the Hawks who started to take possession of the ball and really control the match. Katie Moller had a great look from distance towards goal, but was stopped by Rachel Lusby to keep the game scoreless.
 
After conceding a corner in the 68th minute, Russell sent a deep ball towards the back post where it was headed into the back of the cage by Ries for her sixth tally of the season and a 1-0 lead for the visitors.
 
Just moments after the goal, UND nearly leveled the score as Cassie Giddings just missed wide on her attempt from inside the box in the 74th minute. The chance began to switch momentum back to the home team; however, as the Hawks held the Pilots to only one shot attempt in the final 15 minutes.
 
Two minutes after Moller just missed high on another strong shot, the senior received a perfect through ball from the backline to spring the forward for a breakaway in the 85th minute, but was stopped by a charging Lusby. Megan Wright followed up the chance with a rebound effort, but Lusby was there again with the stop.
 
Following the pair of golden chances in the final minutes, Portland was able to wind down the clock and escape with a 1-0 victory.
 
North Dakota returns to action next weekend for its inaugural Summit League match at Oral Roberts on Sunday afternoon beginning at 1 p.m.
 
NOTES: UND's 6-2-1 nonconference record is the best in the DI era (2008-present) and the top record since the 2004 Sioux went 8-2-1 … Katie Moller and Taryn Ries both led the game with five shots … The goal snapped a shutout streak of 622:29 against DI opponents this season … Chris Logan is now 8-5-4 in nonconference play at UND.