NAMPA, Idaho – Heartbreak came with 2:56 left on the clock for the Crusaders.

Dominating much of the game, the Northwest Nazarene men's soccer team couldn't prevent the ball from creeping just across the goal-line in favor of Western Washington as the Vikings grabbed a 2-1 win in both teams' Great Northwest Athletic Conference opener Thursday on the NNU campus.

"I honestly can't believe what has just occurred," said NNU coach Coe Michaelson. "That's one of the most dominating losses I've ever been a part of.

"And to overcome the unbelievable quantity of injuries we have and play like that; it's really a shame. The boys deserve better."

Western Washington put the Crusaders in comeback mode early when Gabriele Zaccagnini sent a ball forward to Andrew Weishaar, who fended off two NNU defenders then beat Crusader goalkeeper Ryan Foo one-on-one with 9:58 gone in the game.

The Crusaders (0-2-2 overall, 0-1 GNAC) battled to even the score, but didn't find the equalizer until the 58^th minute when Luke Broz sent a ball forward to Fredy Razo, who slipped behind the Vikings defense and scored his own one-on-one goal against WWU keeper Keegan Rogers.

NNU kept the pressure on, outshooting the Vikings (3-2, 1-0) 10-4 in the second half and 16-8 overall, but simply couldn't break the tie.

Then, with 2:56 left to play, the Vikings did when Zaccagnini sent a ball across the goal box that Tye Hastings kicked toward the net.

NNU defender Eli Peterson tried to kick the shot away, but was inches too late as the officials ruled the ball had crossed the goal-line for a disheartening loss for the Crusaders.

"All we can do is work our way through this and keep performing like today and we will win a lot of games," Michaelson said.

Foo made two saves in goal for the Crusaders, while Rogers made four saves for the Vikings.

The Crusaders now look to bounce back against potential their toughest foe all season when they host No. 1-ranked Simon Fraser at 3 p.m. on Saturday.