PUEBLO, Colo. – Northwest Nazarene men's soccer opened the 2024 campaign with a 1-1 draw against Jessup University on Thursday in Colorado.
The game was played at a neutral site, hosted by Colorado State-Pueblo, who the Nighthawks will be taking on next this Saturday.
NNU's first goal of the season came very early, as
Alex Barragan knocked in a rebound off a
Johnny Ramirez attempt that hit the right post to put the Nighthawks up 1-0 in just the seventh minute of the match.
Jessup found the equalizer before halftime, however, and the two teams went into the break knotted at one apiece.
The 1-1 score stood for the final 45 minutes, with both teams registering multiple shots but neither able to find the back of the net for a winner. Jessup outshot NNU 9-6 (4-3 on goal) and gained five corners to NNU's one.
Ramirez and
Jonathan Cardona led the Nighthawks with two shots apiece while
Gerardo Fonte recorded three saves across 90 minutes in goal.
As mentioned, next up for NNU is Colorado State-Pueblo, the defending National Runner-Up in Division II and the second-ranked squad to begin the season. The Nighthawks and Thunderwolves will do battle on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. in Pueblo.
