LOS ANGELES – Northwest Nazarene men's soccer made program history and shook the DII men's soccer world on Saturday night as the Nighthawks upset the top-ranked, defending National Champion Cal State LA Golden Eagles 2-1.
NNU now advances farther into the NCAA postseason than they have ever gone before, reaching the Third Round with 16 teams remaining in the bracket. NNU will now face regional four-seed Cal State Dominguez Hills on Thursday, Nov. 17, with the time and location to be determined.
How It Happened
NNU hung tough with the talented CSULA side for the entire first half, keeping the score locked at 0-0 despite being outshot by the Golden Eagles.
The Nighthawks were the ones to break through, though, as in the 55
th minute
Lukas Juodkunaitis was able to get a strong left-footed shot on a corner sent in by
Jonathan Cardona that rifled past the keeper's left side and into the back of the net.
The Golden Eagles would not give in, however, knotting the score up at one apiece in the 75
th minute.
NNU wasted no time in reclaiming the lead, scoring just over a minute later as
Ethan Atterberry split a pair of defenders and dished the ball to Juodkunaitis, who tucked it into the near post to make it 2-1.
CSULA managed a corner and two more shot attempts over the final 14 minutes, but neither attempt was put on frame as the Nighthawks held on for the stunning upset.
Nighthawks Notes
- The Nighthawks are in new territory now after advancing to the Third Round, making it farther than any team in program history - the only other NNU men's soccer team to make the NCAA Tournament fell in the Second Round in 2014
- NNU has now tied the program record for wins in a season with 14, equaling that 2014 squad
- The Nighthawks' stretch of stunning wins continues, starting with the 2-1 win over Western Washington on 11/3 with both goals scored in the final 75 seconds, a back-and-forth Senior Day 3-2 win over Seattle Pacific on 11/5, the penalty shootout NCAA postseason victory over West Texas A&M on 11/10, and now this monumental upset of the defending national champions
- Juodkunaitis scored two goals in a match for the second time in his career, also doing so against Western Washington in 2021
- Sawyer Price had four saves in goal, playing all 90 minutes
Next Up
The Nighthawks will now face four-seed Cal State Dominguez Hills in the Third Round on Thursday, Nov. 17. The location will be determined tomorrow after two-seed St. Mary's plays seven-seed Midwestern State – if St. Mary's wins, they will host the remaining four teams in Super Region 4, while if Midwestern State wins, three-seed Colorado State Pueblo will host the regional semifinal and final.
