RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Despite owning the momentum after an initial one-goal for North Dakota soccer in the first half, the Fighting Hawks fell to UC Riverside, 2-1, in a Sunday afternoon matinee out west.
The loss moves UND to 2-3-1 so far this season while the Highlanders improve to 2-4-0.
Amidst a rainstorm in California, North Dakota and UC Riverside went head-to-head in a tight-knit battle. Neither team was able to rattle a shot off until the 24
th minute when the Fighting Hawks took control.
Charlie Basinet drilled in a goal off the assist from
Hunter Borgel and
Hannah Peters to make it a 1-0 lead for the visitors. UND attempted two more shots during the remainder of the first half while holding the Highlanders to just one attempt of their own, but the score held at 1-0 at the halftime break.
UC Riverside went on to flip the script in the second half and put UND goalie
Thale Ruether to work. The Highlanders attempted eight shots through the second 45 minutes compared to the Fighting Hawks' three and were able to score on two of them. The home team first tied things up with a goal in the 68
th minute and found an opportunity for the lead seven minutes later off a penalty kick. Ruether made the save off that attempt to keep the scored tied, 1-1, but UCR soon struck again in the 81
st minute to officially take the lead.
North Dakota was unable to attempt a shot in the final nine minutes to force a result and ended up falling on the road, 2-1.
The Fighting Hawks attempted six total shots on the day with three on-goal as seven athletes spent all 90 minutes on the field. Ruether logged six saves during the match to bring her two-game weekend total up to 18 saves.
North Dakota soccer is set to return home for a three-game homestand over 11 days as the Fighting Hawks host Florida Atlantic, North Dakota State College of Science and North Dakota State.
Postgame Notes
- North Dakota is now 2-3-1 so far this season after going 0-1-1 in its California road trip
- The all-time series against UCR now sits at 0-1-0 in favor of the Highlanders
- UC Riverside held the advantage in total shots (9-6) and shots on goal (8-3)
- UND led in saves during the Sunday showdown, 6-2
- Corner kicks remained at a narrow margin, sitting 7-5 at the end of the day in favor of UCR
- Fouls ended 12-9 in favor of UND as two yellow cards were issued
- Thale Ruether has now successfully saved two penalty kicks in back-to-back games
- Charlie Basinet netted her second goal of the season, coming in back-to-back games
How It Happened
First Half
23:25 | UND –
Charlie Basinet (3) assisted by
Hannah Peters and
Hunter Borgel
Second Half
67:22 | UCR – Macie Baird (1) assisted by Albertine Faye
80:19 | UCR – Lauren Nguyen (1) assisted by Mia DiLeo
For more information on North Dakota soccer, visit FightingHawks.com or follow on social media
@UNDsoccer.
