EUGENE, Ore.  – A first-half goal couldn't hold up and the Northwest Christian University men's soccer team dropped their season opener on Friday afternoon to Carroll College, 2-1.
 
The Beacons got on the board in the 14th minute when Angel Sandoval (pictured) collected a loose ball at the top of the box and fired a drop-kick that sailed past the keeper and into the net.
 
The 1-0 lead held up for the entire first half as the Beacons allowed just five shots to the Saints with no shots-on-goal.
 
The Saints finally got onto the board in the 71st minute as Eric Hollenbaugh scored on a rebound after a shot attempt by Jose Porras was saved by NCU's keeper.
 
The tie only lasted for 11 minutes before Carroll scored again, capitalizing on a man advantage thanks to an NCU red card in the 74th minute. Javi Navas sent a perfect pass to Isaac Bostrom which brought out the NCU keeper who was left vulnerable for the chip-in over the top. Bostrom's was the game-winner and only the fourth shot-on-goal of the game for the Saints.
 
Carroll (3-3, 1-0 CCC) finished the night with an 8-6 advantage in shots in a game that saw 37 fouls called and six cautions issued.

After the game head coach Benny Flores said, "I am very proud of the boys. They came out and played hard. We have to learn how to play 90 min of NCU soccer. We played 80 today and came away on the short side. We can not be distracted by exterior things during the game. We need to learn to control the things we can control, and let the rest go."

The Beacons (4-2, 0-1) will get back at it on Saturday, playing host to the University of Great Falls. Opening kickoff for that game is scheduled for 2 p.m.