By NICK VILLALOBOS
Student Reporter
Northwestern soccer started conference play last week with a draw and a loss.
Ranger fans packed the Alva Sports Complex when the Northwestern women opened up conference play against East Central and Southern Nazarene.
The Rangers entered the weekend ranked number one in the Great American Conference with an impressive opening record of 4-1-1. However, Rangers were not able to continue their four-game winning streak, managing a 1-1 draw against the East Central Tigers Thursday and then suffering a 0-2 loss to Southern Nazarene Saturday.
“It came down to hustle and want and I feel like both teams wanted it fairly even,” said Rangers head coach Kasey Mahaffey Thursday after seeing her girls go the full 90 minutes of regular time plus two 10-minute overtime periods, only to have the game end in a 1-1 draw against East Central.
The Rangers were first to get on the board in the eighth minute after Leidiane Capobianco received the assist from teammate Ellen Trotter to grab her team-leading fifth goal of the season. East Central evened it up with two minutes left in the first half when Tiger Krista Kahl was able to punch one past Rangers goalie Briana Legaspi, knotting it up at 1-1.
As the first half came to an end, the Rangers were only able to record four shots at the Tigers goal while the Tigers recorded 11 at Northwestern’s.
When the second half got under way, the Rangers applied extensive pressure, outshooting the Tigers 10 to three.
Unfortunately, neither team was able to break the deadlock after 90 minutes, which sent the game into overtime. After two overtime periods were played, the score remained 1-1, leaving the Rangers opening up conference play with a draw.
ECU head coach Riley Bailey said, “Conference games are always a slugfest back and forth, and I think that was typical of today.”
The Rangers played the Southern Nazarene Crimson Storm on Saturday. Northwestern again fought hard, but sloppy play left them hanging their heads after a 0-2 loss.
The Crimson Storm attacked the Rangers defense early, recording their first goal at the seven-minute mark of the game when Mallary Pineda slipped one just over Rangers goalie Legaspi. Northwestern had a great chance at the 30-minute mark when Capobianco outran the Crimson Storm defense only to find her shot off the mark.
The Rangers tried several times to attack the Southern Nazarene goal after that but numerous unsuccessful passes left the Rangers down 0-1 when the first-half whistle sounded.
The sloppy play continued into the second half for the Rangers as well, allowing the Crimson Storm at the 69-minute mark to add another goal to their lead, putting Northwestern down 0-2 with 20 minutes left to play.
That last goal for Southern Nazarene was a dagger for the Rangers. Northwestern’s greatest chance at closing the gap in the second half came with two minutes remaining when Alyssa Williams launched a header shot at the goal, only for it to be saved by Southern Nazarene’s goalie Natasha Fuentes. Fuentes finished the game with three saves as Legaspi recorded six.
Mahaffey summed up the game when she said, “You can’t win if you can’t finish,” as the team suffered their second loss of the season, leaving them at a 4-2-2 overall record and 0-1-1 record in conference play.
The Rangers take the field again Friday as they go on the road to play the Ouachita Baptist Tigers.