HOUSTON, Texas - North Dakota raced out to an early 4-0 lead in the first half and never looked back as the Sioux defeated Howard, 7-0, on Friday afternoon in the first round of the Great West Conference Women's Soccer Championship.

With the win, UND (5-12-0) advances to the second round and will play South Carolina State in the semifinals on Saturday at 4:30 p.m.

Anna Jung put the Sioux on board first with a goal in the 11th minute after connecting on passes from Alex Zarling and Rachel Loomis.  The Sioux kept the pressure on the Howard (6-10-0) defense with a goal by Zarling just over 10 minutes after the first tally as UND led 2-0. UND added two more goals in the first half with Ryaha Ballon scoring at the 28:44 mark and Francie Piche finding the back of the net at the 40:57 mark.

Playing in the favor of the wind, UND out shot Howard, 15-2, in the first half and went into halftime up 4-0.

UND kept the momentum in the early goings of the second half behind a pair of back-to-back penalty kick goals by UND's Sheri Stapf that helped the Sioux build a 6-0 advantage.   Ballon finished out the scoring for UND and the game with a goal in the 70th minute.

Despite facing 24 shots, 16 of them on-goal, Howard's goalkeeper Cheyra Bell recorded nine saves while UND's starting goalie Monica Stierman picked up the win with two saves.

(Story Courtesy of GWC Media Relations)