SAN ANTONIO, Texas - Northwest Nazarene men's soccer has done it again. The Nighthawks scored two goals in the final three minutes to complete another incredible come-from-behind victory on Thursday, taking down the No. 3-ranked and fourth-seeded Cal State Dominguez Hills Toros 3-2.
 
The Nighthawks improve to 15-3-3 on the season and now advance to the Super Region 4 final, or Elite Eight. They will face three-seed Colorado State Pueblo after they defeated two-seed and host St. Mary's 2-1 following NNU's match.
 
How It Happened
 
The Nighthawks opened the scoring on an incredible strike from outside the box by Alan Soto Ortiz in just the 10th minute. NNU took that lead into halftime despite surrendering a penalty kick in the final minutes of the period that was sent wide right of the goal.
 
NNU held that 1-0 lead all the way to the 61^st minute before CSUDH tied things up at one. The Toros kept the pressure on, adding another score in the 83rd to take the lead.
 
The Nighthawks may have been down, but they were definitely not out. With just under three minutes to play, Sawyer Price sent a free kick into the box from near midfield. A CSUDH defender knocked the ball down right to the feet of Nestor Serrano, who fired a shot into the back of the net from outside the box.
 
It would only take 54 more seconds for NNU to pull off the improbable, as Jonathan Cardona took control of the ball near the midline and streaked down the left side. He crossed one defender and sent a low ball into the box, where Lukas Juodkunaitis gathered and flicked it past the keeper for the eventual game-winner.
 
Nighthawks Notes
 

• The Nighthawks keep making more history, advancing to the first Regional Final in the program's history
• In NNU's only previous NCAA tournament appearance, they reached the second round in 2014
• The Nighthawks have set a new program record for wins in a season with 15, eclipsing the mark of 14 set by the 2014 team
• When NNU scores first this year, they are now 11-0-2
• Today's finish was incredibly similar to NNU's stunning comeback over Western Washington a few weeks ago, when the Nighthawks scored twice in the final 90 seconds to stun the Vikings 2-1. Sawyer Price also assisted the equalizer in the win over WWU just like tonight
• The Nighthawks have been the cardiac kids over the last few weeks, starting with that win over WWU. They also advanced via a penalty shootout over West Texas A&M in the first round before a stunning, 2-1 upset of defending national champion Cal State LA in the second round
• NNU men's soccer is now just the second program in school history to advance to the final eight in an NCAA Championships tournament, joining the 2021 baseball squad that reached the final six

 
Next Up
 
NNU now advances to the Regional Final, or Elite Eight, to face Colorado State Pueblo, the ninth-ranked team in the country and three-seed in Super Region 4. NNU will be looking to enact revenge on the Thunderwolves, who defeated the Nighthawks 6-0 in the second week of the season in a match played in Billings, Montana.
 
The game will be played on Saturday at 6:00 p.m. Central/5:00 p.m. Mountain on Sigma Beta Chi Field in San Antonio. Read Full Article