ORANGE CITY, Iowa – It was all Raiders on Wednesday afternoon, as Northwestern leaves the NWC Soccer Complex with a convincing victory.
The action started in the 18th minute when Alex Ruiz scored his first goal of the season off a Drew Darnold assist. Ruiz found himself one on one with a defender in the box where it took a bit of skill to free himself up for the opening goal of the match.
Neither team found the back of the net for the rest of the first half, but physical play was the day's theme. There were 15 fouls and three yellow cards in the game's opening 45 minutes.
Coach Swier gave his halftime pep talk and the Raiders took over the game, leaving no chance for the Wildcats to make a comeback.
In the 58th minute, after some chaos in the box including multiple shots on goal and deflections, Ruiz gained possession of the ball. He curled in a beautiful goal past the keeper making the score 2-0 and notching his second goal of the game.
Just under four minutes later, the Raiders once again found themselves in a great position to score. Ruiz was running down the right sideline with the ball and launched a beautiful cross at the feet of Stan van den Beld for another goal.
To cap off the game Alex Ruiz again found himself in a prime position to score. In the 95th minute Ruiz was one on one with the keeper, and he put the ball into the back of the net with ease.
With the final score of 4-0 in the books, the defense deserves plenty of praise. Throughout the entire game, the Raiders back line held Culver-Stockton to only two shots on goal that did not make any Raider fans nervous.
GAME NOTES
Up Next: Northwestern travels to St. Paul, Minnesota on Saturday, facing Hamline in non-conference action.
