EUGENE, Ore. – The Northwest Christian University women’s soccer team scored a pair of second half goals to come back and defeat Evergreen on Friday afternoon, 2-1. The win was the Beacons third straight and clinched their first ever trip to the post-season.
Head Coach Jessica Cardwell said, “I’m proud of our girls for fighting back from a deficit. That is not something that we have done in previous matches. We challenged them at halftime to make some changes and they did, making the second half an exciting one to be a part of.”
The Beacons (7-9-1, 4-5-1 CCC) outshot the Geoducks 16-2 in the contest and held ESC to just two shots on goal while collecting seven of their own.
It was Evergreen, however, that struck first when they found pay dirt in the 27th minute. Vanessa Zamora drove into the box, forcing NCU keeper Katie Hastings to pull out from the net. She pulled out a little too far, however, and Zamora scored to her right. It was the only mistake in the Beacon backfield all afternoon.
The Beacons took care of business in the second half where they tallied nine shot attempts including six that were on-frame. The equalizer came in the 52nd minute when a strong through-ball from JaNae Haggard found Joceline Howard on the run. The senior-to-senior connection proved fruitful as Howard dribbled in, beat the keeper and scored from under ten feet away for her first goal of the season.
The goal seemed to rattle the Geoducks and it was just six minutes later when the winning strike was placed. This time it was Howard on the giving end, sending a short pass across the box from right to left. Freshman Maggie McCausland was there, one-timing a bullet from five-yards out for her fourth goal of the year.
Cardwell said, “Joceline came out in the second half and completely dominated up front. JaNae Haggard, Bryce Branagan-Franco, Maddi Bartholomew and Brighton Hebisen put in work in the midfield and created so many opportunities for us and our back line was solid once again, keeping their composure as the game got out of hand.”
The final 32 minutes played out without any score but that didn’t mean the contest was without excitement. Now trailing, Evergreen began to get a little feisty, resulting in a pair of yellow cards and a pair of red cards. NCU played with a two-woman advantage for the final nine minutes.
“We showed control and poise throughout a very wild and chippy game,” said Cardwell. “Our girls remained under control throughout all the craziness that ensued and that speaks highly of their character.”
Sitting in a tie for eighth place to open the day, NCU vaulted into sixth place with 13 points as Rocky Mountain College (12 points) and The College of Idaho (11) were both defeated on the penultimate day of the regular season. All three teams officially clinched their playoff spots on Friday and the eight-team field is now set for the CCC tournament with only seeding in flux on Saturday.
The Beacons, who tied the school win record with their seventh victory, will host Northwest University for their senior night game at 7 p.m. while Evergreen (3-7-3, 1-6-3) travels to face Corban who has locked up the No. 3 seed for the tourney.