EUGENE, Ore. – The Northwest Christian University men's soccer team lost to Warner Pacific College on Tuesday evening, 5-0 in Cascade Collegiate Conference action. The Knights out-shot NCU 21-3 and allowed the Beacons just one shot-on-goal.

WPC got on the board with what would become the game winner in the 24th minute when Justin Coughlin took a pass from Davor Lukic and buried a 25-yard strike past the outstretched arms of Beacon keeper Jared Frasier. A penalty kick by Luis Galvan in the 31st minute gave the Knights a 2-0 edge which they would hold into halftime.

The second half played out much like the first, with Warner Pacific getting on board in the 54th minute when Galvan took a pass to the right of the goal from Juan Castillo and punched the ball back to the left at an angle for his second score on the night.

Alija Sacirovic scored in the 64th minute as Lukic picked up his second assist and in the 75th minute defender Andrew Scott made an impressive goal, hitting a bending strike from the left corner into the right side of the net.

Despite the outcome, Head Coach Chris Bolton was encouraged by some things he saw in the Beacon efforts on Tuesday. “We had better communication tonight,” said Bolton, “and better intensity. We focused on playing stronger one-on-one defense and we definitely had more intensity there.

Another area of focus for the Beacons was on contesting and winning balls in the air. Bolton said, “We dedicated ourselves to challenging those balls and it was probably the best game we've had in three years contesting and winning in the air.”

Frasier finished the night with six saves for Northwest Christian. The team had one strong scoring opportunity midway through the second half when Shane Dasher sent a cross into the box. Alex Crossingham made an attempt at the header and his shot went off of the crossbar and over.

Warner Pacific (9-4, 5-2 CCC) remains in second place in the CCC-North and is closing in on a playoff berth. They will return to action on Friday when they travel to face the College of Idaho.

The Beacons (1-10-1, 0-8 CCC) will be back in action on Thursday night when they play host to Corban College. The Warriors defeated NCU 5-0 on September 12th in Salem. Kick-off is scheduled for 6:00 pm.