EUGENE, Ore.  – It was another battle that came down to the wire for the NCU women's soccer team and another unfortunate goal allowed in the final three minutes as the Beacons fell to Southern Oregon University on Saturday evening, 1-0.
 
The teams played a very even match for the entire 90 minutes. SOU finished with more total shots, but the Beacons held a 6-5 advantage in shots-on-goal. The teams seemed to be cruising towards overtime when Makena Totushek sent a through-ball to Presley Lambert who scored from ten-yards out with just two minutes and 50 seconds remaining.
 
Head Coach Jessica Cardwell said, "Today we played with a lot of heart. We wanted to win and we showed that with our actions. I thought Southern was one of the better teams we have played all season and we matched up well with them. Obviously, giving up a goal in the final three minutes is heart-breaking, but I'm proud of our girls and the urgency with which we entered this game.
 
Friday's loss to Oregon Tech proved to be costly in more ways than one as a pair of regular starters for the Beacons were forced to sit out with injuries on Saturday. This gave some extra minutes to some of the reserve players and allowed for senior Janelle Richards (pictured) to get her first start of the season. "Janelle stepped in and got a lot of minutes and really changed the game with her play tonight," said Cardwell. "Amanda Hadsell anchored our defensive line and had one of her best performances to date. Brighton Hebisen stepped in and played one of her best halves of soccer today. Her timing on tackles was on-point and she created havoc for opposing forwards.
 
NCU (0-8-1, 0-4 CCC) had ten total shots in the game, led by freshman Emily Miller with four shots, including three attempts that were on-goal. The Raiders (3-6-2, 2-2) managed 12 shots (five shots-on-goal) led by three shots off the bench from Megan Kapp.
 
Both keepers were kept busy all evening. SOU's Kylie Moltzen picked up the shutout with five saves while Kristin Fulbright collected four saves between the pipes for the Beacons.
 
NCU will return to action next weekend, playing host to Corban University (3-7, 1-3 CCC) on Friday at 3 pm. Coach Cardwell said, "If we can bring the same level of play that we did today to our game next weekend, we are going to get our first win.