The Red Raiders went on the road as the #5 seed Thursday in the GPAC Quarterfinals and came away with a 1-0 victory against cross county rivals Dordt College. The Raiders avenged their 4-0 loss earlier in the season to the Defenders with a hard fought win.

Northwestern did a great job on the defensive side of the ball throughout the game. Although they allowed 25 shots, 17 of which were on goal, many were not considered dangerous and the ones that were saw Naomi Schimmel stand strong in net and come up big for the Raiders. 

The first half saw both teams generate their chances. Northwestern had big chances by multiple players that just went over or wide. It was a mirror image of the previous Dordt game for the Raiders as they had their chances throughout the game but could not finish. It appeared as though the Raiders were on track for the same fate as they came so close in the first half but came up empty handed being 0-0 at halftime.

The second half was more even as Dordt started to generate more dangerous chances and looked as though they were going to score in a few different spots but the Raiders held strong in their defensive third. 

The score stayed 0-0 for a tedious and nervous 81 minutes but the draw was broken by senior Madison Bertman. The Raiders had been pushing high up the field looking for a game winner and the ball popped out on the left side to Sabrina Tarchione who played a long, left footed cross into the Defender box and Bertman got the first touch on the cross and took the ball back to her left side where she hit a half volley that found its way off the near post and into the net. The Raiders erupted as you could sense that a goal was coming in the game. The goal was Bertman's 7th goal on the campaign and Tarchione's 1st assist on the year. 

The 82nd minute goal sent the Raiders into a defensive shape that held of Dordt and kept the shutout in place. It was the Raider's 10th shutout of the year, a season record for the Raiders.

Northwestern will face Concordia University on Tuesday at 7pm. They will be on the road as the highest seed hosts in the tournament.