The Red Raiders went on the road to a raining day and muddy field on the campus of the College of Saint Mary Saturday and walked away with a 2-1 win. The game was a tale of two halves as the Raiders dominated the first half and the Flames held the advantage in the second half. The win propels NWC to 9-3-3 overall and 4-1-2 in the GPAC while the Flames fall to 6-8-1 overall and 3-3-1 in the GPAC. The win, coupled with other results, officially puts the Raiders in the GPAC conference tournament. 

The first 25 minutes of the game saw the Raiders in the attacking half more often than not but Haley Perry of CSM did a great job of keeper the Red Raiders out of dangerous areas and clearing the ball out in hard situations for the Flames. Northwestern was able to break through in the 30th minute after the Raiders made some substiutions.

Tatiana Garcia came on for Cherish Henry and was able to make an immediate impact on the game finding herself on the ball often and eventually getting the ball after hard pressure by Nikky Farnsworth, taking Perry on 1v1 and playing Farnsworth back on the backside of the Flames defense for a simple back post finish. It was Farnsworth's 5th of the season and Garcia's 2nd assist on the year.

The Raiders were not done in the first half. The 44th minute rolled around and Tamra Wielinga played a great through ball to Tatiana Garcia on the right flank and Garcia whipped a ball into the box to a streaking Maddie Swift who jumped in front of the CSM defender last second and was able to get a great header off that went upper ninty back post. It was Swift's 2nd goal of the year and Garcia's 2nd assist of the day and 3rd on the year. 

The second half saw the Flames take over the majority of possession and the run of play but the Raiders held strong in the early moments of the half until the 63rd minute when a Anette Galaviz hit a long cross that took its turn to goal and found itself in the back of the net. 

The Raiders were able to hold strong the rest of the half defending 6 corners in the half and facing 13 total shots. The Raiders are now 7-2-0 on the road and 3-1-0 in GPAC play on the road. 

Northwestern takes on Morningside College Wednesday, October 18 in their next contest. The game is slated for a 5pm kickoff at the NWC Soccer Complex.