NAMPA, Idaho – Goalkeeper Jeremi Campagnolo made a career-high 11 saves on a busy night between the posts Thursday at the NNU Soccer Field, but host Northwest Nazarene University claimed a 2-0 Great Northwest Athletic Conference result over the Montana State University Billings men's soccer team.
 
The Nighthawks peppered the Yellowjackets with a 21-2 shot advantage, and placed 13 looks on frame throughout the match. Jake Levine scored his fourth goal of the season in the 67th minute, and Ethan Atterberry put the game to bed in the 87th minute to seal the win for the hosts. NNU improved to 7-3-1 overall and is now 3-1 in GNAC play with the win.
 
Campagnolo did his best to keep the Yellowjackets in the match until the end, on an evening where the run of play and majority of offensive chances came in the NNU attacking third. The Yellowjackets slipped to 2-6-1 overall and 0-3-1 in league play with the loss.
 
The better chances of the first half belonged to the Nighthawks, who pushed Campagnolo to make six saves over the opening 45 minutes.
 
Fresh into the game with 16 minutes to go before halftime, Ryan Hanley had MSUB's first dangerous look when his powerful shot from well outside the box was knocked away by NNU goalkeeper Sawyer Price. Price finished the match with two saves, earning his fifth shutout of the season as he denied both of MSUB's looks on target.
 
The Yellowjackets dodged a bullet 13 minutes before halftime, when the Nighthawks came close to scoring on back-to-back corner kicks with excellent service into the box from Jonathan Cardona. NNU produced two more strong looks on target into the closing minutes of the half, but Campagnolo was there to keep the ball out of the net.
 
After weathering the storm, the Yellowjackets generated an offensive opportunity winning a corner kick followed by a free kick deep in the NNU half. The Nighthawk back line handled three straight services into the box, winning all three aerial balls to clear the threat and get to halftime with the score at 0-0.
 
NNU came out of the break with some momentum, winning a pair of corners early and keeping the pressure on the 'Jacket back line. A dangerous free kick in the 58th minute resulted in perhaps Campagnolo's best save of the night, when he fully extended to tap away a shot by Lukas Juodkunaitis that was destined for the top corner.
 
The breakthrough came on an intercepted goal kick, as Atterberry turned niftily through a pair of defenders and found himself with passing options into the box. He elected to feed a low through ball to the left, where Levine took it in stride and blasted the ball into the back of the net.
 
The lead nearly doubled nearly instantaneously, when the Nighthawks pressed forward in the following minute and earned a penalty kick after a late tackle within the box. Lorenzo Valentini smashed his left-footed attempt high over the crossbar however, as NNU missed a prime opportunity to gain some breathing room.
 
Campagnolo kept Levine out of the net moments later, sliding to prevent a close-range look after the NNU striker shook his mark inside the six-yard box.
 
Jimmy Koufidakis created the goal that sealed the match, beating his defender in the right corner with just three minutes left on the clock. From there he whipped a low cross through the box, where Atterberry calmly took his time and slotted it into an open net from 12 yards away.
 
THE BUZZ: Campagnolo was named the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game…his previous single-match high in saves was nine, which he achieved in a match against Life University on Oct. 2, 2021 during his career at Campbellsville University…MSUB is now 14-18-2 all-time against NNU and is 8-10 in road matches against the Nighthawks.
 
COMING UP: MSUB is back in action on Saturday, facing first-year program Western Oregon University in another conference contest. Kickoff in Monmouth, Ore., is set for 11:30 a.m. Pacific/12:30 p.m. Mountain and live coverage will be available online here.