Box Score
NAMPA, Idaho – Two second half goals by Northwest Nazarene's Salvador Sanchez propelled the Crusaders to a 2-1 victory over visiting Montana State Billings Saturday afternoon. With the loss, the Yellowjackets fell to 5-5-1 on the year and 1-4 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. NNU improved to 5-4 on the year and 2-3 in conference play.
“It is a disappointing loss,” MSUB head coach Dan McNally said. “We played great for 60 minutes and controlled the game, but in the last 30 minutes we really struggled. It was a long road trip for us yesterday up here and we looked fatigued in the last 20 minutes. We are in the middle of a rough stretch of games and we have to stick together and fight through this difficult period.”
The teams played to a scoreless first half, but the Yellowjackets dominated the half outshooting the Crusaders 4-0. NNU goalkeeper, Mitch Rice, made two first half saves to preserve a scoreless score. In addition, MSUB had a 4-0 advantage in corner kicks in the opening half.
Just under seven minutes into the second half, the Yellowjackets drew first blood as junior Garion Holian headed home a ball played from senior Ryan Covey from eight yards out for the 1-0 lead. It was Holian's second goal of the year and the third assist for Covey, as he now is tied for the team lead in assists.
Sanchez scored the equalizer in the 66th minute as he fired a shot off two touch passes from Ben and Alex Mangeac from 12-yards out into the upper right corner. From there, the momentum seemed to begin to favor NNU and Sanchez was on the receiving end of his second goal of the season and the game winner.
Jose Oregon sent a pass to Sanchez at the top of the box in the 79th minute and went one-on-one with MSUB goalkeeper Matt Mitchell with a low shot inside the right post for the winner and a 2-1 lead.
Just as MSUB dominated the stat sheet in the first half, the Crusaders outshot the Jackets 8-2 in the second half and owned a 3-2 advantage in corner kicks in the second period.
For the game, the Yellowjackets were led by Holian who had two shots and one on goal and the lone score. Sanchez led the way for NNU with two shots and two scores. The Crusaders outshot MSUB 8-6, but the Jackets led in shots on goal at a 4-3 clip.
The Yellowjackets continue their four-match road trip as they play a non-conference match at the University of Mary Wednesday night at 7 p.m. Central time in Bismarck, ND. MSUB returns home to host its final four regular season matches Oct. 28, at 12:30 p.m., versus Western Washington at Yellowjacket Field.
