CRETE, Neb. – The No. 21-ranked Northwestern College men's soccer team (14-2-1, 10-1 GPAC) clinches a share of the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) men's soccer title this evening with a 4-0 shutout over the Doane Tigers (2-12-2, 2-7-2 GPAC) to wrap up the regular season.
 
"I cannot say enough about this group that I am so privileged to work with every day. All season long they have upheld the two pillars of our program: Unified. Competitors," said head coach Dan Swier.
 
The title marks only the second in program history back when the Raiders won it in 2004. Head Coach Dan Swier has been involved in both of the Raiders' GPAC titles. He was a junior on the '04 squad that won the program's first-ever league title. He now can add a league title to his resume as the head coach of the men's soccer program, joining his former coach TJ Buchholz as the only coaches to achieve that feat.
 
Northwestern wasted no time finding the back of the net as senior Joshua Wingfield (Bronx, N.Y./Polytech) netted the game-winning goal in the 12^th minute with the assist credited to leading goal scorer Juan Mackrey (Sr., Balcare, Argentina/Georgia Military Academy). Wingfield has tallied five goals on the season.
 
The Raiders would take that 1-0 lead into the halftime break, before erupting for three goals in the second half.
 
Mackrey would find the back of the net in the 54^th minute, bringing his season total to 10. Fifteen minutes later, a Stan van den Beld (Fr., Voorhout, Netherlands/Rijnlands Lyceum Sassenheim) shot bounced off a Doane defender for a Tiger own-goal.
 
Finally, Niklas Fitter (Fr., Sankt Augustin, Germany/Rhein Sieg Gymnasium) would cap off the Raider attack with an 84^th minute goal to make it the 4-0 Raider lead. The goal marks Fitter's fifth of the year.
 
The shutout marks the tenth of the season for Northwestern. Goalkeeper Ezekiel Foltz (Jr., Sioux Center, Iowa/Sioux Center) picked up his 14^th win in the net for the Raiders this season, tallying three saves on the evening.
 
Coach Swier concluded, "they have displayed a singular focus, they have overcome adversity, and they have enjoyed every step of the journey. I am extremely proud of them!"

The Raiders co-regular season championship is shared with the Briar Cliff Chargers, with both teams finishing with 10-1 GPAC records and 30 points. No tiebreaker is used to determine an outright regular season champion. The Raiders will claim the league's regular-season automatic bid to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) national tournament and the top-seed in the upcoming GPAC conference tournament. The Raiders earned the top-seed with the head-to-head win over the Chargers (2-0) back on September 18 to open conference play at the NWC Soccer Complex.

Up Next: The Raiders will prepare for the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) tournament as the Quarterfinals are set for Wednesday, November 3 as the Raiders will prepare to host the No. 8-seed Mount Marty Lancers (6-8-1, 4-7 GPAC).