CALDWELL, Idaho  – The Northwest Christian University men's soccer team completed a very successful road trip on Sunday, stunning The College of Idaho 4-3 for the Beacons first ever road victory in Caldwell. Freshman Blake Doran and senior Angel Sandoval each scored a pair in the win.
 
NCU pulled out to a 4-1 lead but a pair of Yote goals in the final four minutes made things interesting. The Beacons (6-4-2, 2-3-2 CCC) owned an 18-10 advantage in shots and collected eleven shots-on-goal while C of I (3-7, 2-5) had just seven attempts on frame.
 
The Beacons took a 1-0 lead in the 43rd minute when Doran stole an errant clearance in the box and buried a 10-yard shot into the right corner of the net.
 
The College of Idaho knotted things up early in the second half when Darion Green and Cole Fuller combined on a touch cross to Carter Perry who slotted home the equalizer.
 
NCU answered just six minutes later when Doran (pictured, left) connected for his second strike after a long through-ball connection from Ian Hawkford (pictured, right).
 
Head Coach Benny Flores said, "I am really excited for Blake. He played a great game and has been playing really well as of late."
 
Sandoval added to the lead in the 66th minute when he his 20-yard loft from the left corner slipped over the head of the C of I keeper and just under the crossbar.
 
The Beacons made it a 4-1 lead in the 86th minute when Sandoval flicked home a cross from Olisa Obianozie.
 
With a seemingly insurmountable lead and just four minutes remaining, NCU switched keepers and the momentum seemed to swing to the Yotes simultaneously. With 3 minutes and seven seconds to play, Perry scored his second of the match, heading home a corner kick from Fuller. Then with one second on the clock, Sid Rayne punched in an indirect free kick to make it a one-goal game before time expired.
 
"I am really proud of the boys," said Flores. "For 85 minutes we really played NCU soccer. We controlled the flow of the game with our possession and our work rate, but we have to learn how to finish games. When you give good teams the opportunity to get back into a game they will take it."
 
It was a physical contest as the teams combined for 29 fouls and seven cautions, six of which came in a contentious final seven minutes.
 
The victory on Sunday capped a weekend that also included a 1-1 draw in Billings, Montana on Friday against Rocky Mountain College, the defending CCC champions and current conference leaders. Flores said, "I would really like to give praise to our reserves this weekend. They really came up big. We don't get the results this weekend without them. They were awesome."
 
The Beacons will next travel to Portland on Friday to take on Multnomah University at 7:00 p.m. On Saturday they head further north into Washington to face Walla Walla University at 7:30 p.m.