LACEY, Wash. - Two days after Northwest Nazarene men's soccer and Saint Martin's were unable to declare a winner, NNU earned a convincing 2-0 win over SMU on Saturday.
On Thursday, the Nighthawks and Saints battled to a 1-1 draw, but NNU held SMU off the scoreboard today and took the win with a goal in both halves.
The Nighthawks improve to 3-1-1 on the year, while the Saints fall to 0-1-1 after playing their first games of the season this weekend.
NNU was able to control the game and earn a significant offensive advantage, taking 14 shots and putting seven on goal while SMU attempted seven shots and managed just three on frame. The Nighthawks also took nine corners, including seven in the second half, to just three for the Saints.
Lukas Juodkunaitis opened the scoring, finding the back of the net on NNU's third shot of the game in the 30th minute. Juodkunaitis then recorded the assist on NNU's other goal, serving a corner to
Lorenzo Valentini for the score that put the Nighthawks up 2-0 in the 71st minute.
NNU's defense did not allow a shot for the rest of the game, solidifying the two-goal victory.
Juodkunaitis tallied three points and put three of his four shot attempts on frame in the match to lead the Nighthawk offense, while
Sawyer Price earned the shutout in goal with three saves over the 90 minutes of action.
NNU's next three games are all scheduled to be at home, hosting Westminster on March 25 and then taking on Saint Martin's for two more matches on April 8 and 10.
