EUGENE, Ore. – The Northwest Christian University men's soccer team got its 2008 campaign underway this weekend, playing in the Oregon Tech Classic in Klamath Falls, Ore. The team got out to a strong start with a 1-1 tie against Simpson College, which was followed by a 2-1 loss at the hands of Menlo College.

After a scoreless first half, the Beacons were the first to get on the board as Shane Dasher hooked up with Greg Erickson on a perfectly placed through ball that left the junior forward with a one-on-one opportunity against the keeper.

Simpson would come back to tie the game, however, when Josh Blackburn stole a ball from the Beacon defense, creating an opportunity against the keeper, whom he beat to the goal. It was a strong game for NCU, who for the first time in school history came away from their season opener without a loss.

The Beacons peppered 26 shots in the game including 14 shots-on-goal, forcing nine saves for the Simpson goalie. Cuyler Ziegler collected five saves of his own for Northwest Christian, without allowing a goal during the first half nor either overtime period.

Northwest Christian closed out the weekend tournament on Monday with a 2-1 loss at the hands of Menlo in a very physical contest. Once again Erickson got the Beacons on the scoreboard first, taking a feed from Justin Doss and pushing the ball over the keeper for the score.

The Oaks tied the game later in the first half on a penalty kick goal from Cesar Garcia. Garcia went on to score the game winner in the second half, connecting off of a corner kick from Dominic Mitchell in the 54th minute.

The hotly contested game saw a combined total of six yellow cards handed out, with most attributed to aggressive, physical play. Ziegler was again the keeper of record for the Beacons, collecting ten saves in 90 minutes of action.

Assessing the opening weekend of play, head coach Chris Bolton said, “We played well this weekend and it was a good way to start things off. We are starting seven freshman and we only have two players on the field with any previous collegiate experience, and that has been evident. We would have liked to have come away with some victories, but overall it was a positive trip for our guys.”