EUGENE, Ore. – A pair of second half penalty kicks accounted for all of the scoring on Tuesday night in a wild Cascade Collegiate Conference clash between Northwest Christian University and Oregon Tech. Both teams had chances to put the game away during both overtime periods, but to no avail as the contest was finished with a 1-1 final score.

Head Coach Chris Bolton said, “I'm very satisfied with the way we played tonight. It is always better to get the win, but I will consider this a moral victory compared to how it could have ended up. We focused all of yesterday's practice on our defensive shape and put a huge emphasis tonight on our defense and our backline really did their job tonight.”

The defenses for both the Beacons and Owls were on display in the first half as the teams combined to come up with just six shots. Half-time adjustments made by both teams put a little more juice into the offense however, and NCU was the first to capitalize in the 50th minute. Ryan Thamm created a turnover near midfield and placed a perfect pass up to Chris Longi in the box. Longi was fouled as he attempted to create a shot opportunity. Alex Crossingham was given the penalty kick opportunity and the sophomore did not disappoint, drilling the ball into the corner of the net for the go-ahead score.

The NCU defense again buckled down, playing five men in the back line in an attempt to preserve the shutout. Oregon Tech, however, used a relentless attack and finally came up with a solid opportunity of their own in the 83rd minute. Another scrum in the box ended with a foul, this time called on the Beacons. Senior Devin Torrey took the shot for the Owls and put the equalizer into the net.

The Beacons had a strong scoring opportunity come in the first overtime period. A corner kick created a header shot by Longi. With the OIT keeper out of position, the ball was headed towards the top of the goal when another Owl defender leaped and headed the ball over the crossbar for the save.

Oregon Tech then responded in the second overtime period, but a well-placed service ball was punched out of the six-yard box by a diving Nick Kratzke. The Beacons had one more opportunity of their own on a breakaway in the final minute of the game, David Lee beat the Oregon Tech keeper to a loose ball and was headed towards a score in the empty net with just 20 seconds to play when an Owl defender made a last-ditch attempt at a slide tackle, sending the ball out of bounds to end the game.

Cuyler Ziegler (pictured) had made the start for the Beacons, the first of the season for the senior Captain after sitting out the first four games of the year recovering from an off-season injury. Ziegler made four saves and allowed just the one goal and was lifted before the overtime sessions. Bolton said, “Nick was a little disappointed not to start tonight, but CJ has been our starter for four years and he's ready to go. But when we called on him to come in, he did what he needed to do. It's really nice to see a freshman keeper go in there with ice water in his veins at a crucial part of the game and be successful.”

The Beacons will be back in action next Tuesday as they travel to face Warner Pacific University at 6:00 pm.