EUGENE, Ore.  – The Northwest Christian University women's soccer team had two golden opportunities denied in the second half on Monday afternoon, dropping a 1-0 game to Northwest University in Cascade Collegiate Conference action.

The Eagles wasted no time in getting on the board, scoring in just the second minute. Lindsey Field found Abby Brauer with a pass and Brauer was left one-on-one with the keeper. Her shot went just past a diving Ali Foster for the Beacons for what would amount to the only scoring of the contest.

Northwest Christian was outshot 6-0 in the first half, but rebounded after the intermission, holding a 4-3 edge in attempts. Two of the Beacon opportunities came on breakaway plays that, if not for the stellar defensive effort of Eagle keeper Jordan Holmes, would have been sure goals.

The first attempt, midway through the second half, came from Karli Vath who sent in a left-to-right shot from just outside the 18. The ball was deflected by the slimmest of finger tips as it went up and over the crossbar.

Later in the period, Miranda Cruz sent a perfect through ball up to Katelyn Partridge, who was left one-on-one with Holmes. Her hard strike was partially blocked by the keeper, but continued to roll towards the goal, where it trickled out of bounds just to the right of the pipe.

After the match, head coach Brett Bentley said, “We came into tonight off the big win over Evergreen and that game showed the girls that we are a good team and it gave us a lot of confidence tonight. We came out and played extremely well. We made some adjustments at halftime and they really paid off. If it wasn't for one early mistake and two brilliant saves by their keeper, I think we walk away with a win today.”

With the win, Northwest improves to 6-2-2 overall and holds onto a share of first place in the conference at 2-0. It was the Eagles' fifth straight win over NCU.

The Beacons drop to 1-8 on the season and 1-1 in the CCC. Foster finished the night with six saves in the loss.