NAMPA, Idaho – The Northwest Nazarene women's soccer team was down two starters Saturday.

The Nighthawks showed it didn't matter, though, as players played out of position and generally stepped up in a 1-0 Great Northwest Athletic Conference victory against Simon Fraser.

"It gave room for other people to step up and perform," NNU junior Jade Zimmer said. "Two starters were out, so that's two people who haven't been starting who have to step up. It's also two subs that had to step up."

Leading scorer Rikki Myers missed Saturday's game as did defender Jordyn Gifford. Both are expected back next weekend.

"I'm more proud of this win than any other win we have had this year," NNU coach Mary Trigg said. "Everybody stepped up and gritted out a win. We had to have people play in different positions … but right now we have a team that is doing anything we ask and everyone is team first."

NNU (5-4-1 overall, 2-1-1 GNAC) defender Makenna Alfson played significant minutes at forward, while defender Hailey Hockett also played up top. Zimmer, a defender, saw significant time in the midfield and forward Sierra Sanchez played inside more than normal.

"I think it is awesome that people can step up," NNU senior Brooke Felzien said. "I love it because it shows that Mary can trust us to put us in there and she trusts us to get the job done.

"We have so many players who are versatile, who can get in there and get the job done."

Zimmer scored the lone goal of the day on a corner kick by Magda Wronski in the 56th minute and the defense, plus goalkeeper Alexis Montoya made it stand up.

"At first, when the ball came in, I was like, 'Oh, shoot, I should have gone up for the header,'" Zimmer said. "Then I saw it bouncing around and I just kicked it into the corner."

The Nighthawks' win combined with Western Washington's win against Montana State Billings moves NNU into third place in the conference with seven points, just two points behind Seattle Pacific and Western. NNU heads to Billings next Saturday.

"I think this shows the GNAC that we are here to play and we are ready to go to the final four," Zimmer said.

Part of the reason the Nighthawks feel they are capable of getting back to the postseason for just the second time in program history is because of how they played Saturday.

When Myers is on the field she tends to use her speed to beat people and the midfield responds with lots of through balls to take advantage of her quickness. On Saturday, the Nighthawks relied more on precision passing to set up opportunities on offense.

"I think it shows we can do other things," said Felzien, who had one of NNU's 10 shots on goal. "We are also good at finding feet and that shows we can do different things and other teams should be scared of that, because we are not one dimensional."

Montoya made five saves for the Nighthawks, while Nicole Anderson made nine for Simon Fraser (1-6-1, 1-3-0).