The Red Raiders move to 2-2 overall on the year after going 1-1 in the Pizza Ranch Classic Friday and Saturday.
Northwestern got off to a great start Friday night against Bethel College (Ind.) after Tyler
Limmer broke through the Pilot back line and was able to get a big touch around the goalkeeper but could not finish the ball himself.
Limmer turned and found a streaking Morgan
Newby coming off a 60 yard run to bash home the first goal of the match. The
13th minute goal was
Newby's first of the year and
Limmer's 4th assist.
The Raiders would continue to dominate the first half, holding Bethel to only 2 shots. The second half was a different story as Bethel came out with a strong surge keeping the majority of the possession to start the half. Northwestern held strong for the majority of the half but gave up a free kick to the left of
Matt Scott near the goal line in the
79th minute. Finn
Luben stepped up to the ball and hit an in-swinger to Samuel
Biek for the header into the back of the net.
The Pilots earned another set piece to the left of
Matt Scott again in the
86th minute. Finn Luben hit the free kick in again and
Matt Scott got to the ball first but could not catch it clean, and the rebound dropped straight to Bruno Jaeger to tap home the loose ball.
Saturday night was a much better results for the Red Raiders. Trinity Christian College (Ill.) came into the match with offensive struggles in the early season and it showed again on the evening. The Raiders held the Trolls to only 1 shot on goal all evening. Even with the strong Red Raider defense, the game was close for the first 76 minutes even though the Raiders went up in the
24th minute off a free kick for
Jacobo Garcia-Nieto.
Garcia-Nieto would get his brace in the
75th minute with a header off a corner kick. The Raiders would never turn back.
Mateus Freitas, Tyler
Limmer, and
Brennen Haggerty would all add goals in the last ten minutes of the match.
Limmer had the assist for
Freitas, Ben
Hengst had the assist for
Limmer, and
Phillipe Patri had the assist for
Haggerty. It was an emphatic way to end the game and the weekend for the Red Raiders.
"The way we lost the match to Bethel on Friday was very difficult and disappointing," commented head coach Dan
Swier. "We controlled the match in the first half and then played not to lose in the second half; a recipe for disaster. I was pleased with the way we remedied that mentality against Trinity on Saturday. First half
wasn't pretty but we managed to take a 1-0 lead into the half again. Only this time we played to win in the second half. We have a senior-heavy group and today a senior,
Jacobo, stepped up with two gorgeous goals. Once he scored the second one it felt like a shroud was lifted and we played very loose the rest of the way."
The Raiders travel to Baker University, currently ranked tenth in the NAIA, on Saturday, September 8th at 7pm.
