Box Score



NAMPA, Idaho — With one inspiring halftime speech, the Crusaders went from OK to playing like a Top 25 team.

The 19^th-ranked Northwest Nazarene men's soccer team controlled play all day long but didn't truly turn it on until the second half, pulling away from the University of Mary for a 2-0 win over the Marauders at Finkbeiner Park on the NNU campus in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play Thursday evening.

"It was a good result in the end," said NNU head men's soccer coach Coe Michaelson. "I thought we played a good first half in terms of our possession, we had a lot of the ball, but the message at halftime really was we needed more thrust in the final third, more energy and aggression in the final third.

"We definitely got that in the second half," NNU's coach added as the Crusaders (7-1-1 overall, 3-0-1 GNAC) scored the game-winner 4 minutes, 5 seconds into the second half, then just kept pouring it on.

Energized by their coach's halftime speech, the Crusaders attacked in waves right after the break, putting in the first goal of the game when Luke Broz made a run down the right side and crossed a pass to Julio Castillo.
 

Castillo, standing 10 yards out from the left goal-post, booted the ball out of the air and into the back of the net for the first goal of NNU's day.

"I think that we decided we wanted to win and everyone — we talked before the second half and everyone was on the same page," said Castillo.

The Crusaders kept pressuring the Marauders (2-5-1, 1-3-0) and finally put home a second ball in the 68^th minute when Castillo threaded a pass forward to Erik Anderson who blasted a shot into the left side of the net for the final outcome.

On the other end of the field, Ryan Foo made one save and Stephen Davidson headed a ball out of harm's way for a second save, preserving the shutout in a game that saw the Crusaders outshoot the Marauders, 23-6.

The win keeps NNU atop the GNAC standings and sets the stage for a first-place battle on Saturday when the Crusaders host Montana State Billings at 1:30 p.m.