Box Score




NAMPA, Idaho — The cliché states: Defense wins championships.

That remains to be seen, but Saturday defense won the day for the 19^th-ranked Crusaders who clamped down on the best offensive team in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference to score a 1-0  victory.

"Just a team commitment, everyone's out there working for the guy next to you," said Northwest Nazarene senior defender Luke Broz, whose first goal in the Crusader black and red was the lone score of the day as NNU topped Montana State Billings at Finkbeiner Park on the NNU campus in a battle for first place in the GNAC standings.

"We knew it was going be a big match today," added NNU head men's soccer coach Coe Michaelson. "Billings has had some good results and they showed, particularly in the second half, they've got some quality, particularly in their attack. They put us under as much pressure in the latter stages of that game as we've been under all year.

"So it was a tough match, one we're happy to take three points from," Michaelson said.

The Yellowjackets threw everything at NNU (8-1-1 overall, 4-0-1 GNAC) in the final moments of a contest control by the Crusaders, who outshot the GNAC's most prolific offense — which scored 21 goals in 8 games coming in — 15-4.
 

NNU had to hold on as Broz scored the lone goal of the game with 18 minutes, 43 seconds gone off the game clock.

Broz helped set up his own goal by making a run forward and finding teammate Julio Castillo on the left side of the 'Jackets goal-box.

Castillo snuck in behind the defense and calming crossed a pass back to Broz in front of a wide open MSU Billings net.

"It was really a great team goal I thought," said Broz, who added, "… I would have been really upset if I missed that, had an open net."

NNU kept pressing forward all game trying to ice the win, but couldn't put away another goal.

It didn't matter as the Crusader defense held strong, not allowing a shot on goal to the Yellowjackets (4-2-3, 2-1-2).

"I think we played well," said Broz. "We were covering, everyone was in line, everyone got back."

Preserving a win that keeps the Crusaders securely in control of the top spot in the GNAC standings for now as the team prepares for a four-game road trip that starts Thursday at Simon Fraser.