Saturday, November 19, 2022

SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Northwest Nazarene’s magical run came to an end with a 1-0 loss to No. 3 seed CSU Pueblo in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II Men’s Soccer Championships.

The loss marks the most successful season in program history for the Nighthawks who amassed a 15-3-3 overall record and a 9-2-1 GNAC record to win the program’s first conference championship behind first-year head coach and GNAC Coach of the Year John Powell.

Northwest Nazarene came into the quarterfinal match on the heels of defeating No. 4 seed Cal State Dominguez Hills on Thursday and having taken down reigning champion Cal State LA last week.

Northwest Nazarene battled until the last minute with the Thunderwolves with junior goalkeeper Sawyer Price standing tall in the net and making five saves against 12 shots. The Nighthawks were pinned in their own zone for much of the match, making a handful of effective attacks in the first half but unable to break down the CSU Pueblo defense.

The CSU Pueblo scored the lone goal of the match in the 87th minute of the match after the NNU committed a foul in their own box, sending the Thunderwolves to the penalty spot where they were able to capitalize. Sophomore midfielder Lukas Juodkunaitis was the only Nighthawks player to put a shot on goal, putting one on frame early in the match. He led Northwest Nazarene in the postseason with three goals and an assist over four matches.

Senior forward Jake Levine finishes the season as the team’s leading scorer with nine goals and three assists for 21 points and as the program’s all-time leader in goals with 31. Price rounds out the campaign with a 15-3-3 record with seven shutouts and a .742 save percentage after starting all but one match for the Nighthawks.