Box Score

ELLENSBURG, Wash. — One quick shot, and the game changed for the Crusaders on Thursday afternoon in Washington.

Viktoriya Vasina scored just 2 minutes, 16 seconds into the final half for the Wildcats, spoiling a strong first-half effort by Northwest Nazarene and leading to a 2-0 victory for host Central Washington in Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's soccer.

"We played well in spots but we weren't consistent enough at keeping the ball," said NNU head women's soccer coach Mary Trigg.

The Wildcats had a chance to push the lead to two goals a little more than a 2 minutes later, but Daniele Ortiz came up with a save on a penalty kick.

The Wildcats (5-5-1 overall, 4-2-1 GNAC) kept pressing, though, and made it 2-0 when Hadli Farrand scored in the 55^th minute, icing the victory.

"We're still learning how to play at a high level for the whole game, but we're making improvements," said Trigg, whose team matched Central Washington stride for stride in the first half as both teams had seven shots.

CWU inched away with the early second-half surge, though, netting the win despite Ortiz's penalty-kick save, which was one of four saves on the day for NNU's goalkeeper.

Nicole Nsa led the offense for NNU (3-5-3, 2-5-1) with five shots in the contest, though none found the back of the net for the Crusaders.

NNU looks to bounce back Saturday when it continues its weekend road trip to Washington, playing at Seattle Pacific.