NAMPA, Idaho – Northwest Nazarene men's soccer defeated Seattle Pacific in a thrilling 3-2 classic to claim the GNAC Championship for the first time in program history on Saturday night.
The Nighthawks came into the week knowing that they would likely need two wins over traditional conference powers Western Washington and SPU to ensure the GNAC title, and NNU delivered in spectacular fashion with their stunning comeback on Thursday and today's remarkable victory.
With the title secured, the Nighthawks receive the GNAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, marking just their second NCAA postseason appearance in program history after earning an at-large berth in 2014. NNU will find out where, when, and who they will be playing on Monday afternoon when the selections are announced on NCAA.com at 4:30 p.m. MT.
The Nighthawks finish the regular season with a record of 13-3-2 overall, and 9-2-1 in GNAC play.
How it Happened
Northwest Nazarene gained their first lead of the match early on in the 13
th minute.
Jonathan Cardona lined up to take a corner kick for the Nighthawks and delivered an immaculate ball across the front of the Falcons' goal.
Jake Levine was in perfect position and delivered a header to the back of the net.
The Falcons were able to score a goal of their own, however, on a penalty kick to tie the game at 1-1 in the 34
th minute.
Just four minutes later, NNU took the lead back heading into half. Cardona sent a cross that deflected off an SPU defender and ended up in front of
Alan Soto Ortiz, who slid and launched the ball past the Falcons' keeper.
SPU showed that they were not going to give up easily, however, and tied the game up again in the 75
th minute.
The Nighthawks would get the final goal in the back-and-forth battle, though, coming in the 85
th minute. It was Cardona with another assist, his third of the game, this time to
Lukas Juodkunaitis who rifled the ball into the back of net to put the Falcons away and give the Nighthawks their first-ever GNAC Championship.
Nighthawks Notes
- As mentioned, this is NNU's first-ever GNAC Championship and will be the second appearance in the NCAA Tournament
- In 2014, NNU finished second in the GNAC and went on to win a game in the opening round of the West Regionals to advance to the regional semifinal
- NNU earns the conference title in head coach John Powell's second season at the helm of the program
- Jonathan Cardona had three assists in the match, just the third player in NNU's DII history to dish out three assists in a game, joining Fernando Alvarez in 2015 and Jaime Torres in 2013
- Cardona is now up to eight assists on the year, tied for third-most in a single season in program history
- Soto Ortiz's goal was his second this week and his second of the season, also adding the game-tying goal in Thursday's win over WWU
- With his third goal in the last three games, Levine is now up to eight on the season and extends his new DII career program record mark to 31
- Juodkunaitis is now up to five goals this year, second on the team and moving into a tie for sixth in program history with 33 career points
- Price had six saves in net for the Nighthawks, playing all 90 minutes
- Lorenzo Valentini, Braeden Anderson, and Nestor Serrano played all 90 minutes of the match as well
Up Next
As mentioned, NNU will wait to see where, when, and who they will be playing in the NCAA DII Men's Soccer Tournament when the selections and brackets are announced on Monday, Nov. 7
th at 4:30 p.m. MT on NCAA.com.
