EUGENE, Ore.  – One of the most memorable seasons in NCU women's soccer history came to a close on Friday as the seventh-seeded Beacons fell to No. 2 seed Southern Oregon 1-0 in the first round of the Cascade Conference soccer tournament.
 
The Beacons were playing in their first ever post-season game and they did what they have done all season with a stellar defensive effort. NCU held the Raiders off the scoreboard for 81 minutes before the regular season runners-up finally broke through for a game-winner.
 
The Raiders (12-5-1) out-shot the Beacons 12-6 in the game but the teams were even with four shots-on-goal apiece. Mackenzie Galick recorded three saves in goal for NCU while Kylie Moltzen registered four in the SOU win. Head Coach Jessica Cardwell said, "Mackenzie played an incredible game in goal for us. After having to play forward for the last two weeks it was great to see her jump back into the net and make the kinds of spectacular saves that she made today."
 
NCU closes out the season at 7-10-1, having tied the school record for victories. "Before the start of the season our team set the goal of making it to the conference tournament," said Cardwell. "There were a lot of steps we had to take to reach this goal but we worked daily to get better and to glorify God with our gifts and talents. It wasn't an easy road. As a matter of fact it was one of the most difficult seasons many of us had ever been a part of. The difficulties and hardships that we faced made us stronger both on and off the field. We accomplished our goal and although we may have lost in the quarterfinal round we can walk off the field proud of the effort and heart we displayed.
 
Honored last weekend after their final home game, today also marked the final time that seniors Joceline Howard, JaNae Haggard, Bryce Branagan-Franco, Amanda Hadsell, Maddi Bartholomew and Nikki Bevans. Coach Cardwell said, "I am so proud of my seniors. These six girls set out to leave the program in a better place than when they entered. Their desire was to leave a legacy and set our program up for future success and they have done that. Each one of these young ladies has left their mark on women's soccer at Northwest Christian University and I couldn't have asked for a better group of women."