BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Northwest Nazarene men's soccer withstood a strong Western Washington attack on Thursday night, holding off the Vikings 2-1.
The Nighthawks improve to 2-0 in early GNAC play and 3-4-1 overall on the season.
Despite only managing three shot attempts in the opening half, NNU had the lone goal of the period in the 28
th minute.
Caleb Putney had a shot attempt blocked by a defender, but the ball fell right to the feet of an unmarked
Johnny Ramirez at the top of the box for a strike inside the left post.
The second half started similarly, with WWU holding a bit of an advantage in possession, but once again it was the Nighthawks that took advantage of a great opportunity. After a WWU corner in the 60
th minute,
Gerardo Fonte corralled the loose ball in the box and then caught the Vikings sleeping, sending a laser of a pass up the left side that hit
Jonathan Cardona in stride just over midfield.
Cardona collected and had a one-on-one with the WWU goalie, who dove and clipped Cardona as he attempted to dribble around him, resulting in a penalty. Cardona took care of business himself, giving the keeper no chance with a well-hit, low strike just inside the left post to put NNU up 2-0.
WWU was able to get one back late in the 85
th minute, with Adan Fernandez curling an impressive ball inside the right post from the top of the box. The Vikings earned three corners in the final four minutes, but the Nighthawks' defense held for the 2-1 win.
The scoreline did not quite reflect the box score, as WWU held advantages in shots at 23 to 4 and corners at 15 to 1. Only five of those Viking shots were on goal, however.
NNU will look to continue their strong start to conference action this Saturday, heading across the border to take on Simon Fraser in Burnaby, B.C. at 11:30 AM Pacific.
