NCC Breaks Through for First Victory
EUGENE, Ore. -- After battling through eight losses to open the season, Greg Erickson (pictured) hit a penalty kick in overtime to give Northwest Christian College third first win of the season, a 2-1 defeat of Northwest University.
Erickson scored both Beacons goals and has now registered all six scores for Northwest Christian College this season
Northwest took early control of the game and grabbed a 1-0 lead in the 17th minute, Amos Freiheit gained control of the ball deep in the box and pitched a pass back to Kyle Veach who collected the ball and sent it hard past a diving Cuyler Ziegler in goal for the Beacons.
Scoring chances came frequently in the second half for the Beacons, but they resulted in just three shots for the period. The only one that mattered was a breakaway in the 56th minute. Tucker Keller served the ball into the right side of the box and found Andrew Burkhart who flicked a one-time pass to Erickson. Erickson buried the equalizer that would eventually send the game into overtime. The assist for Burkhart was the first collegiate point for the freshman.
Northwest would not go without their own chances in the second half. They took nine shots in the period including six on goal. In the 65th minute Matt Johnson was left one-on-one with Ziegler and fired a bullet that bounced off the left post and was soon cleared by the Beacon defensive unit.
The Beacons (1-8, 1-5 CCC) picked up their first ever Cascade Collegiate Conference victory with the win. Northwest drops to 3-6 overall and 2-4 in the conference. Ziegler finished with eight saves on the night to pick up his first win of the season as well.
NCC will be back in action on Saturday night when they play host to Evergreen State College (2-6-1, 1-4-1) who went long today with a 1-1 tie in Salem against Corban College. Kick-off is scheduled for 7:00 pm.