FARGO - Not even a cold could extinguish Holly Christian's hot streak.
Despite being under the weather, Christian scored her fourth goal in three games as the Bison played to a 2-2 tie in double overtime against North Dakota on Sunday at the Ellig Sports Complex.
"The team put the ball in the right place," Christian said. "I just happened to be there to put it away."
The redshirt junior gave the Bison a 2-1 lead after Morgan DeMike put the ball in front of the net. The ball took a funny bounce and Christian scored on a header over Sioux goalkeeper Kristi Hestdalen.
"It would have been nice to have Holly at 100 percent, but she still stepped up and got a big goal for us," Bison head coach Pete Cuadrado said. "She's definitely hitting her stride."
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Christian's goal came with five minutes left in the game, but the Bison couldn't hang on to the lead.
The Sioux's Rhaya Ballan tied the game two minutes later. Ballan streaked toward the net and punched through two Bison defenders before her low shot went past Bison keeper Kaylani Bertsch.
Ballon has now scored a goal in four straight games and leads the Sioux with five goals.
The Bison controlled the tempo throughout most of the two overtime periods, but neither team put a serious shot on net.
"I thought we had a ton of chances," Bison head coach Pete Cuadrado said. "We just have to do a better job of putting the ball in the net."
UND's Rachel Loomis scored the first goal of the game off a cross from the left side.
"I was calling for it and had my hand in the air," Loomis said. "All I had to do was get my body behind the ball, and it went in the net for me."
Loomis, a Fargo South graduate, was excited to play in front of her hometown family and friends. Scoring her fourth goal of the season brought loud cheers from the Sioux fans.
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NDSU's Abbey Moenkedick tied the game in dramatic fashion with less than a minute remaining in the first half. Moenkedick launched a soaring shot toward the net from 40 yards out. The shot caught the goalkeeper off guard as the ball dropped into the back right corner of the net.
"I saw the goalkeeper cheating a little and I had the wind at my back," Moenkedick said. "I knew it was in the second it left my foot."
The Bison outshot the Sioux 28-14 during the match. This is the seventh time the Bison and Sioux have faced each other. The series is tied 3-3-1. Last year, The Bison hosted the Sioux in the season opener and came away with a 4-3 win.
FIRST HALF: 1, UND, Loomis (Anderson), 16:12. 2, NDSU, Moenkedick, 44:30.
SECOND HALF: 3, NDSU, Christian (DeMike), 84:32. 4, UND, Ballon (Harris), 87:07.
SAVES: UND, Hestdalen 12. NDSU, Bertsch 5.
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Ben Karkela at (701) 241-5549
