DENVER – The [-/RV] University of Denver women's soccer got two quick goals inside the opening quarter hour and the all-important third on the other side of halftime to pull away from North Dakota State 3-0 on Sunday afternoon at the Diane Wendt Sports Complex.
 
First Half:
The Pioneers got right off the mark as Meg Halvorson smashed home her second of the campaign in the eighth minute. Alex Nillen picked out Natalie Beckman's run down the left. Beckman played a cross on the ground all the way across the box to the run of Halvorson who finished the 16^th goal of her Pioneer career.
 
Just shy of five minutes later Sydney Sharp made it 2-0 with her second of the campaign. In the Denver press, Beckman turned over and NDSU defender sending Sharp in 1v1 with the goalkeeper. Sharp dribbled to the center of the box before calmly sliding her fifth career goal by the keeper.
 
Denver outshot NDSU 7-2 in the opening 45 minutes.
 
Second Half:
North Dakota State got a bit of the play in the early stages of the second half, but it was Denver that got the important next goal, courtesy of freshman Taylor Wells' second career goal. Devan McSwain won a challenge just inside Denver's defensive half to start the scoring sequence. McSwain's challenge fell to the feet of Malak Rafik who picked out Wells' run with a through ball. Wells got to the inside of her defender and slid the ball into the back of the net from 14 yards out.
 
Significant Stats:
Denver outshot North Dakota State 14-4, and took five of the eight corner kicks on the afternoon. The Pioneers defense held the Bison to one shot on goal.
 
Beckman's career total in assists moved up to 24, moving her into a tie with Kalie Vaughn for sixth in Denver's career record book.
 
Up Next:
Denver will hit the road for the first time since the opening weekend of Summit League play when the Pioneers travel to Brookings to take on South Dakota State. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. MT on Friday and 11 a.m. MT on Sunday.     
 
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