By Matt Gittins - ISU Sports Information
POCATELLO, Idaho – Another late stroke of magic proved to be the difference as Amanda Ellsworth's goal in the 86th minute helped lead Idaho State to a 1-0 victory over North Dakota, Friday afternoon at Davis Field.
ISU (5-5, 2-1) kept their undefeated record alive at home with the late tally. The Bengals have now scored 20 goals on the season with 15 of them coming after halftime and nine being scored in the 71st minute or later.
"No matter what we keep fighting," Amanda Ellsworth said. "You do enough good things and they are going to pay off."
The goal is Ellsworth's Big Sky leading 9th of the season. She collected a ball in the box and fought through multiple defenders before taking the shot into the top of the net for the game-winner.
"I just kept fighting for it," Ellsworth said. "Being at Davis Field I knew exactly where I was even with my back to the goal. I turned and saw the goalkeeper go low so I hit it high."
"I yelled out to her late in the game 'It just takes one,'" Head Coach Allison Gibson said. "After the game I went up to her parents and told them 'thank you for having her'. That type of competitive spirit in a kid does not come along often. I think I've seen it two or three times in my career. I can't say enough about her. It's like she gets more and more fueled the more the minutes ticked on."
ISU dominated the possession throughout the 90 minutes. The Bengals outshot North Dakota 29-5 but despite the huge advantage in chances the goal appeared elusive.
"I told my team at halftime that this is one of those games that could come down to the last 30 seconds," Gibson said. "You've got to see this one all the way through. We kept telling them to keep their foot on the gas pedal and eventually something is going to give."
Idaho State recorded their first shut out of the season as keeper Sheridan Hapsic made three saves.
"It was in our game plan to be moving forward," Gibson said. "Regardless of who we play we have to get in front of the game and we did that today. The mindset was to keep it as far away from our goal as possible."
The Bengals continue their home-stand Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. at Davis Field against Northern Colorado. Many former players from the past Big Sky Championship teams will be in attendance to be honored at halftime as well as sign autographs after the game.Â
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