LACEY, Wash. – The Saints applied pressure for a full 90 minutes against Northwest Nazarene; however, the Nighthawks managed to not only handle the pressure but left Lacey with a 2-0 win.
Northwest Nazarene (7-4-1, 3-4-0) collected the first goal of the match in the 25th minute. The final blow came in the closing minutes, when a penalty kick was called on Saint Martin's resulting in the second goal. The Saints (5-7-0, 1-5-0) defensively collected nine saves, six from the keeper
Ali Koehler and three by the team on 19 shots by Northwest Nazarene.
The Nighthawks managed to create opportunities on goal in the opening minutes; however, each time the Saints' defense was ready. The Saints countered with shots by
Morgan Lord and
Kiersten Madsen, but both missed their mark. The Nighthawks managed to squeeze one past the Saints in the 25th minute, when a cross from the far post, found an open Rikki Myers in the middle of the box for her fifth goal of the season. Koehler and company made three more saves to keep the match within one goal at halftime.
In the second half, the Nighthawks managed to control the pace of the match by winning the battles in the midfield. The Saints' lone shot in the second half came just seven minutes in when
Shea McKnight's attempt missed wide. Koehler continued to keep the Saints within striking distance, making five saves throughout most of the second half. The final blow came with just 2:57 left on the clock as Northwest Nazarene was fouled in the box, resulting in the penalty kick. The Nighthawks capitalized on it and went on to win 2-0.
"We fought hard today and played well as a team," said head coach
Heather Cato. "We just couldn't produce the quality opportunities or outcomes we needed to put the game away. We have to learn from the positives and the momentary lapses from today and build on those going into the game on Tuesday."
The Saints travel to Western Oregon on Tuesday for their next GNAC match. Match is set to begin at 3:00 p.m. with live stats and video available on smusaints.com.
