NAMPA, Idaho  – The Western Washington University men's soccer team opened Great Northwest Athletic Conference play with a 3-2 setback on the road Thursday against Northwest Nazarene University.
 
The Vikings dropped to 2-6-0 overall and the defending GNAC champions are 0-1-0 in league play. NNU improved to 4-3-0 overall and are off to a 1-0-0 start in conference play.
 
NNU freshman midfielder Lukas Juodkunaitis played a part in all three of the Nighthawks goals, recording a brace and adding an assist.
 
The Vikings got on the board first in the 21st minute with the fourth goal of the season from senior midfielder Drew Farnsworth, all coming in the last six games. Freshman defender Jacob Sundberg delivered well-placed long ball in to the box, where Gilbert De La Luz got off a mid-range shot that was smothered by the NNU goalkeeper. Farnsworth collected the loose ball and connected on an 8-yard shot that scooted by the NNU last line of defense for the go-ahead goal.
 
NNU answered with the equalizer with four minutes left in the half. Brandon Parsio crossed a ball from the right wing into the box where Juodkunaitis volleyed it home with one-touch strike into the upper left quadrant of the goal.
 
WWU went back up with an early second-half goal in the 51st minute. Freshman Lucas Hakamada headed home the go-ahead goal, delivered off a corner kick by freshman midfielder Kaydin Wall and a flick header by sophomore defender Theo Steinmetz.
 
The Nighthawks wasted little time again finding the equalizer just 18 seconds after the Hakamada go-ahead goal. Juodkunaitis delivered a free kick from 40-yards out into the box that was headed backwards into the goal by Aidan McGinty.
 
WWU goalkeeper Brandon Wolter made three saves to keep the game level in the 63rd and 67th minutes, but NNU put the eventual game-winner on the board in the 73rd minute with Juodkunaitis again providing the offense for the Nighthawks. Jimmy Koufidakis crossed the ball into the box where Juodkunaitis connected on a snap-header inside the right post.
 
The Vikings had a couple of chances down the stretch, with Alec Zimmerman hitting the post with a shot in the 77th minute.
 
NNU out-shot the Vikings 17-10 and held a 9-4 advantage in shots on goal.
 
Wolter tied his single-game career-high with six saves.
  WWU (2-6-0, 0-1-0 GNAC) concludes the opening week of GNAC play on Saturday with a road match against Saint Martin's (3:30 pm). The Vikings will open a season-high five-game homestand on Saturday, October 9 hosting Simon Fraser University.
 

Northwest Nazarene 3, Western Washington 2
Date: September 30, 2021
Field: NNU Soccer Field      Site: Nampa, ID
Att: 125

Goals by period              1  2    Tot
-----------------------------------------
Western Washington.........  1  1  -  2
Northwest Nazarene.........  1  2  -  3

SCORING SUMMARY:
1.       20:25       WWU    Farnsworth (De La Luz)
2.       41:00       NNU    Juodkunaitis (Niessen, Parsio)
3.       51:00       WWU    Hakamada (Steinmetz, Wall)
4.       51:18       NNU    McGinty (Juodkunaitis)
5.       72:11       NNU    Juodkunaitis (Koufidakis)

Shots: NNU 17, WWU 10
Shots on Goal: NNU 9, WWU 4
Saves: WWU 6 (Wolter – 6), NNU 2 (Price - 2)
Corners: NNU 8, WWU 4
Fouls: NNU 15, WWU 8
Yellow Cards: NNU 2, WWU 1
Offsides: WWU 1, NNU 0
Kits: WWU (Navy Blue), NNU (White)

  WWU maintains a 19-7-3 lead in the all-time series, but had its four-game winning streak vs. the Nighthawks snapped with Thursday's 3-2 loss (also had a 7-game unbeaten streak snapped). Vikings are now 10-5-1 all-time in games played in Nampa.