DULUTH, Minn. – The Minnesota State University Moorhead football team was within one score throughout the fourth quarter but came up short at Minnesota Duluth on Saturday, falling to the Bulldogs 42-34 at Malarky Stadium in Duluth, Minn.

MSUM is now 2-3 overall and 0-1 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference North Division while the Bulldogs are 4-1 overall and 1-0 in the north.

UMD outgained MSUM 498-448, including 254-134 on the ground. The Dragons had a 314-244 edge in passing yards. MSUM had four turnovers compared to one for UMD.

"At the end of the day, I don't think anybody in our program is satisfied with being close any more," MSUM head coach Steve Laqua said. "That's good to see, that close isn't OK any more. Our kids are hungry to get a breakthrough win and they are going to keep working for it."

Senior quarterback Jake Hodge, making his first start of the season, was 16-of-25 passing for 314 yards and two touchdowns.

Senior receiver Cory Ambrose had seven catches for 140 yards and two touchdowns, all season-highs. Junior receiver Damon Gibson had five catches for 134 yards.

Sophomore running back Austin Stone rushed for 57 yards to lead the ground game. Freshman running back Zach Sweep had five carries for 33 yards and the first touchdown of his collegiate career.

Junior linebacker Abe Roehrich had 11 tackles and a tackle for loss. Sophomore Michael Strand had seven tackles while sophomore safety Aaron Doan had seven tackles and a forced fumble. Junior defensive end Drew Lingle had a fumble recovery. Roehrich, senior defensive end Nick Ecklund and senior linebacker Aaron Bohl had sacks.

Sophomore kicker Joe Tjosvold went 2-for-2 on field goals and 4-of-4 on extra points on the day for the Dragons.
A big kick return led to UMD's first touchdown in the first three minutes of the game. MSUM went 62 yards on 12 plays and got on the board with a 27-yard field goal from Tjosvold to cut the lead to 7-3 with 8:49 left in the half. A 30-yard pass from Hodge to Gibson set up that field goal.

UMD answered with a 26-yard touchdown run to make it 15-3 with 5:11 left in the first quarter. The Dragons responded with a nine-play, 71-yard drive and scored on Sweep's 15-yard touchdown run to cut the lead to 15-10 with 1:34 left in the first quarter.

The Bulldogs then scored 20 unanswered points to build a 35-10 lead, taking advantage of two Dragon turnovers that were turned into 14 points.

MSUM fought back in the second quarter. A 43-yard touchdown pass from Hodge to Ambrose brought the Dragons within 35-17 with 4:50 left in the first half. Moments later, the special teams delivered as Doan blocked a punt which was returned by Gibson for a touchdown, cutting the lead to 35-24 with 2:15 left in the first half.

The defense got a three-and-out and MSUM marched down the field in the final seconds of the half. The Dragons settled for a field goal as time expired, as Tjosvold's 22-yard field goal cut the lead to 35-27 at halftime.

"The kids endured the first half, we had a lot of unfortunate bounces and situations," Laqua said. "I was proud of the resiliency."

The Dragon offense struggled in the third quarter, going three-and-out three times. The Bulldogs scored on a touchdown pass from Drew Bauer to D.J. Hebert with 8:12 left to push the lead to 42-27.

The Dragon defense did not allow another point and held UMD to just seven second half points.

"We knew scheme-wise it was going to be tough," Laqua said. "We did a better job in the second half. It was tough defensively in the first half with the field position from the special teams and turnovers. It created a tough scenario for our defense."

MSUM cut the lead to 42-34 early in the fourth as Hodge hit Ambrose for a 19-yard touchdown. A 28-yard pass from Hodge to Ambrose set up that score.

The Dragons twice had offensive possessions with chances to tie the game in the fourth but went three-and-out.

"We played a solid first half. We did a good job moving the chains, whether it be scrambling or throwing," Laqua said. "Unfortunately we weren't able to keep the momentum of the first half going in the second half. We sputtered when we needed to get points."

MSUM returns home to face Minnesota Crookston on Oct. 8. The game, which is MSUM's homecoming, begins at 6 p.m. at Scheels Field at Nemzek Stadium.

Steve d'Eustachio Stat of the Game: Unless the football rules change, the last tie in Dragon program history occurred in Duluth as the Dragons and Bulldogs, who were both 3-0 in NSIC play, battled to a 14-14 standoff on Oct. 14, 1995. Both squads would then win their remaining two ball games and win the league title with 5-0-1 marks.