NAMPA, Idaho – Northwest Nazarene men's soccer earned a huge three points on Saturday with a 2-1 victory over Simon Fraser.
The Nighthawks improve to 1-1-1 in GNAC play and 4-3-3 overall on the year.
Neither team had many opportunities over the first 25 minutes of play, but in the 27
th minute the Nighthawks were given an advantage when Simon Fraser's Tristan Otuomagie was handed a red card for a dangerous challenge to cause the Red Leafs to play with 10 men for the rest of the contest.
Javier Luevanos got NNU on the board just four minutes later, collecting a pass from
Derek Johnson at the top of the box and curling a wonderful strike just inside the near post.
NNU's second tally came in the 58
th minute with a fantastic team effort.
Derek Johnson sent a long ball to
Kwame Kwakye on the right side of the box for a quick pass to
Alex Barragan, who one-timed it back to
Derek Remen in the middle for a beautiful goal.
The Red Leafs generated some pressure despite being a man down and were able to score with eight minutes left to play. NNU's defense held from there, however, earning the 2-1 win.
NNU dominated the run of play for most of the game after the red card, outshooting SFU 14-4 overall and 7-1 on goal. The Nighthawks also had six corners to just two for the Red Leafs.
NNU will look to take some momentum from this game when they head out on the road next week, visiting Saint Martin's on Thursday and Western Oregon on Saturday.
