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Northwest Nazarene University Athletics

Nicole Nsa vs Western Oregon

Wolves spoil NNU women’s efforts at dramatic comeback win

| By: Mike Stetson, Sports Information Director
Box Score

NAMPA, Idaho – A dramatic finish turned anti-climactic in the blink of an eye for the Crusaders.

Down a goal, and down a player, the Northwest Nazarene women's soccer team bravely battled to tie the game in the final 4 minutes of regulation.

Then, just 33 seconds later, Western Oregon netted the game-winner for a 3-2 win over the host Crusaders in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action at Finkbeiner Park on the NNU campus on Thursday.

"We played a great first half but then we became inconsistent and let outside factors dictate the way we played the game," NNU head women's soccer coach Mary Trigg said of the loss.

The Crusaders (4-8-3 overall, 3-7-1 GNAC) dominated play in the opening half, getting a goal from Sarah Jenkins following a corner kick only to see if waved off as the official ruled the corner kick went out-of-bounds before Jenkins scored.

Undaunted, NNU got a pretty goal from Nicole Nsa, who took a pass from Sarah Blum and tucked the ball just inside the left post with 16:07 left in the opening half.

Things changed drastically in the second half, though, as JoEllen DeLeon scored in the 54th minute for the Wolves (6-5-3, 4-3-4), then Makana Pundyke made it a 2-1 game in WOU's favor in the 66th minute.

To make matters worse, the Crusaders drew a red card in the 83rd minute, which could have doomed them.

Instead, NNU kept pushing the attack and tied the game when Lexi Fesenbek sent a free kick from the left side of the goal-box to Makena Dandley, who headed it home.

The assist was the 11th of the year for Fesenbek, a single-season Crusader record for the junior, snapping the previous single-season record of 10 assists in a season shared by Randi Hufford (2001) and Denise Thuline (1999).

The Crusaders' celebration was short-lived, though, as Savannah Bogan looped a ball over NNU goalkeeper Daniele Ortiz from 18 yards out, breaking the tie just 33 seconds later and lifting the Wolves to the win.

Ortiz finished with five saves for NNU, which returns to the field Saturday to host St. Martin's at noon.
 
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