NAMPA, Idaho – Northwest Nazarene men's soccer scored twice in the final 75 seconds to stun Western Washington 2-1 on Thursday and remain on top of the GNAC standings.
The Nighthawks advance to 12-3-2 overall and 8-2-1 in the GNAC.
How it Happened
The Vikings were able to strike first with a goal in the 22
nd minute of the match. The Nighthawks had four shots in the first half with two of them on target and saved. Other than the Vikings' goal, they only had two other shots.
In the second half, the Nighthawks were able to put pressure on the Vikings' defense and came away with 11 shots. The score remained 1-0 in favor of Western Washington until the very end of the match.
All the excitement began in the final minute and thirty seconds of the match when NNU's goalie,
Sawyer Price, came up near the middle of the field to deliver a free kick into the box. Price's ball deflected off a WWU player to
Alan Soto Ortiz who was able to deliver a strike into the back of the net tying the game 1-1.
Moments later, with 28 seconds remaining in the match,
Sullivan Smith raced to a ball in the corner and send a cross in front of the Western Washington goal that snuck past their goalie.
Jake Levine capitalized by diving towards the ball and delivering a header to the back of the net to give the Nighthawks a 2-1 lead and win.
Nighthawks Notes
- The Nighthawks took 15 shots with eight on goal to the Vikings' seven shots and three on goal
- The Nighthawks are set to secure the GNAC conference title with a win against SPU on Saturday
- NNU could also secure the conference title with a loss from Simon Fraser in their final games either Friday or Saturday
Up Next
The Nighthawks will have their Senior Day game against Seattle Pacific on Saturday, November 5
th at 4:00 p.m.
