EAST GRAND FORKS, Minn. – If there has been a theme to this 2018 season for Head Coach Chris Logan and the University of North Dakota soccer team it's rewriting the record book, and Wednesday afternoon at East Grand Forks Senior High was no different in a 3-0 shutout victory over Minnesota Duluth.
 
Katie Moller potted three goals to post the 12th hat trick in program history and first since Rachel Loomis against South Carolina State on Nov. 6, 2010. The senior becomes only the seventh different player to reach the three-goal plateau for the Fighting Hawks (4-0-1) and only the second in the Division I era.
 
UND also recorded its fifth straight shutout to extend the streak to 470 minutes, which now sits alone as the second-longest shutout streak in program history and longest in the DI era. Olivia Swenson stopped all five shots fired her way to post her fifth clean sheet of the season and eighth of her career.
 
"It's our third game in a week and we could tell," said Logan. "We were tired. Duluth is a good team and I think having just the one practice to prepare didn't put us in a good situation to necessarily win. If it wasn't for Katie [Moller] today, this game could be a tie or even a loss. Credit to Duluth, they gave us a great game today."
 
The Fighting Hawks outshot the Bulldogs (1-2-0), 21-12, in the match, including a 13-5 mark in shots on target. However, UMD controlled play through much of the opening 45 minutes, outshooting UND, 9-7, heading into the halftime break.
 
North Dakota opened the scoring in the 15th minute when Moller collected a pass from Megan Wright, spun around a defender, and fired a shot into to the top right corner for an early 1-0 Fighting Hawk lead.
 
UND didn't waste any time building on its lead, striking again just six minutes later as Moller tallied yet again. The senior was fed a ball from Ashley Ebeling deep in the attacking zone, spun free of a defender, and deposited a shot into the far corner from a tough angle to double the lead and give the West Linn, Ore., native her third career two-goal game and first of the season.
 
The Bulldogs pressured as the first half wore on, firing the final five shots of the stanza, but Swenson was up to the task. The goalkeeper made her best stop of the period off a header following a cross into the box to send UND to the locker room with a 2-0 advantage.
 
It took only 4:27 into the second half for the Hawks to put the game away as Moller completed the hat trick in brilliant fashion. After Cassie Giddings played a perfect through ball for her, the senior made a quick move around the UMD goalkeeper and polished off the trifecta in the 50th minute.
 
UND nearly added another pair of goals late in the contest when Brittnay Mueller and Emma Contino each recorded point blank opportunities off corner kicks, but both chances were saved by the keeper as the Hawks opened the home season with a 3-0 triumph.
 
North Dakota returns to action on Sunday with a showdown against No. 22 ranked Bemidji State at 2 p.m. from East Grand Forks Senior High.
 
NOTES: Moller's hat trick is the first since Rachael Loomis (11/6/10) against South Carolina State and only the 12th in program history … The three goals moves Moller into fifth all-time in program history with 22 … The senior has now scored in eight of her last 11 matches and four of the first five this season … Moller's game-winning goal was the sixth of her career, matching April Bielejeski (1999-02) for fifth most in program history … Chris Logan is now 6-3-4 in non-conference play at UND … Olivia Swenson's shutout was the eighth of her career, tying teammate Catherine Klein for third most at UND … The Hawks join UC Riverside as the only programs to not allow a goal this season and the shutout streak is now 470 minutes, the longest in UND's DI history and second longest in program history … The undefeated start through five games joins only the 2001, 2003, and 2005 Sioux teams to accomplish that feat.