NAMPA, Idaho – The Saints continuously fought back on the road, scoring two equalizing goals and forcing overtime. In the final seconds of the overtime, Northwest Nazarene managed to find the net for a 4-3 golden goal victory over SMU.
The Saints made the first noise in the match when
Jose Marquez netted his third goal of the year on a ball from
Oscar Aguilar in the 24th minute. The lead held for 15 minutes until the Nighthawks' Steve Monroe scored his first goal of the night to equalize before half.
Out of the break, the Nighthawks struck again to take their first lead in the 50th minute on Monroe's second goal. In the 57th minute, the Saints were awarded a penalty in the box, and taking the PK was none other than
Brandon Madsen. The GNAC leading goal scorer converted on his 13th goal of the year, tying the match at 2-2.
However, the tie did not last long, less than three minutes to be exact. The Nighthawks' leading scorer Jake Levine punched in the go-ahead goal in the 59th minute to regain the lead. The Saints found another way to respond.
In the 70th minute, Aguilar struck again, this time in the form of a goal. After assisting on the first SMU goal, Aguilar scored his 5th goal of the year to once again equalize the match. The score remained tied at 3-3 after 90 minutes, forcing overtime.
Both sides found opportunities throughout the overtime period, but in the final seconds, Northwest Nazarene squeezed a ball inside the post to secure the 4-3 golden goal.
"Tonight's overtime loss was difficult," said head coach
Rob Walker. "We scored off three dead balls, two free kicks, and a penalty kick. All three came from strong attacking plays and all three were well taken. There were a few other bright moments, but those three goals should be able to see us through most games. Our defending was not good enough to counter NNU's strong attacking chances, and our lack of execution hurt us for sure. In the end, there are many things that work out in teh game, with a little bit of execution, I think that this was a game we should've won."
The Saints travel to Montana State Billings on Saturday to face the Yellowjackets. Kick-off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. with live stats and video available on smusaints.com.
