LOS ANGELES - Northwest Nazarene men's soccer earned their spot in the second round of the NCAA Super Region 4 bracket on Thursday night, advancing past West Texas A&M in penalties by a 1-1 (6-5 PK) final.
 
NNU's magical run will continue into Saturday when they will now take on the top-seeded and defending National Champions, Cal State LA, at 6:00 p.m. Pacific.
 
How it Happened
 
Both teams had great defensive displays in the match, especially in the first half. The Buffs took five shots in the first half, with a couple hitting the crossbar, but ultimately none of them were on target or required a save. The first half ended tied at 0-0.
 
The Nighthawks started gathering momentum in the second half with seven shots. NNU was able to start creating opportunities, and in the 81^st minute of the match took the lead. Lukas Juodkunaitis delivered a ball to none other than Jake Levine who was able to put a header into the back of the net.
 
Just two minutes later, however, West Texas A&M answered with a goal of their own to tie the game and send the two teams to overtime.
 
In the second half of overtime, Levine nearly gave the Nighthawks their second lead of the match when he headed a ball towards the far post. The attempt was stopped with an incredible diving play by the Buffs' goalie, though, and the game remained at 1-1 to go to a penalty shootout.
 
Each team made their first five attempts in the shootout before NNU keeper Sawyer Price was the first to deny a score in the sixth round. West Texas A&M's keeper countered with a save of his own, but Price came up huge yet again with another save on WTAMU's seventh attempt.
 
It was then up to freshman Zakaria Daaou to try to win it, and he stepped up to take NNU's seventh try and buried it in the back of the net, sending the Nighthawks and their fans into celebration.
 

The save. The score. The celebration.

NNU men's soccer is moving on to the Second Round! pic.twitter.com/fO2c0GJJF4

— NNU Nighthawks (@NNUSports) November 11, 2022

 
Nighthawks Notes

• NNU has now advanced through to the Second Round in both of their NCAA Tournament appearances, also earning a victory in 2014 over Simon Fraser
• The Nighthawks have had a stretch of stunning wins, with the 2-1 win over Western Washington with both goals scored in the final 75 seconds, a back-and-forth Senior Day 3-2 win over Seattle Pacific, and now this penalty shootout NCAA postseason victory over West Texas A&M
• This was the first overtime (and penalty shootout) that the Nighthawks played all season after the NCAA's rule of no overtime during the regular season began this year
• Jake Levine has now scored a goal in each of the Nighthawks' last four games, bringing his team-leading season total to nine and his program record career total to 32
• Juodkunaitis earns his fourth assist of the year to move to 14 points, second on the team
• NNU's six made PKs came from Jonathan Cardona, Alan Soto Ortiz, Lukas Juodkunaitis, Lorenzo Valentini, Nestor Serrano, and finally Zakaria Daaou
• Price made three saves in regulation and overtime, playing all 110 minutes in goal
• Valentini, Serrano, Ethan Atterberry, and Braeden Anderson all also played the full 110 minutes
• The Nighthawks entered the game 6-1-1 on the season when tied going into halftime, and while today's game doesn't technically go into the win column, they continued their trend of finishing strong and emerging on the right side of close games

 
Up Next
 
As mentioned, the Nighthawks will now look to continue their great run when they face off with powerhouse and host of the weekend, Cal State LA, on Saturday night at 6:00 p.m. Pacific. Read Full Article