The women’s soccer team outlasted Northwest Nazarene University 3-2 Thursday afternoon in San Diego.
The Broncos had an impressive total of 18 shots in the match, eight of which were on target.
Of the 18 shots, 11 of them came in the second half when the Broncos scored two of their three goals in the match.
The Broncos were able to contain the Nighthawks in the first half and only allowed two shots in the first 45 minutes.
“I thought we started the game fairly well, but we looked a little too comfortable after scoring the first goal, which allowed them to come back into the game. And they came out into the second half with a lot of energy,” head coach Jay Mason said. “We have to get better at managing the end of the game. There were three goals in the last 10 minutes, it was a little chaotic but overall I’m just proud of them for being resilient, (and) finding a way to win, which I think good teams do.”
Early in the first half, the Broncos warned the Nighthawks of their intentions to score with back-to-back shots.
The first attempt came from the foot of senior forward Ambria Pogue and the second one by junior forward Taylor Scott.
But unfortunately, the Nighthawks goalkeeper Alexis Montoya saved both shots.
Minutes later, sophomore forward/midfielder Allyssa Larkin showed up for the Broncos and got on the board with the first goal of the match, thanks to an assist by junior midfielder Ally Lacarra-Platt.
“I think I played decent(ly). I thought I brought some energy to the team. And I score(ed) my first goal,” Larkin said. “We came out really strong and put a lot of pressure on their defense, but after we scored the goal we got confortable and thought we had the game in the bag. But we battled it out and came out on top at the end.”
Following Larkin’s goal, the Broncos were close to scoring the second goal of the match later in the first half when freshman forward Cassie Snow took a shot that hit the left woodwork.
Coming into the second half, the Nighthawks looked to tie the game and their efforts were compensated with an early goal.
Despite the Nighthawks goal, the Broncos continued their strong performance with multiple shots but it wasn’t until the 83rd minute of the match that Scott scored.
Two minutes later, Pogue topped the strong Bronco performance with a third goal after being assisted by Scott.
“We started really well and once we scored our goal we sort of started to back off a little … I think we need to learn to keep the same energy and realize that the game isn’t over,” Scott said. “I started a little slow, but once I started to get into the groove of things, I started to play well.”
Despite the two-goal deficit, the Nighthawks made a late push for a comeback and scored a second goal in the final minutes of the game. But it wasn’t enough, as the Broncos took the victory.
On Saturday morning, the Broncos extended their winning streak to three games after defeating the Seattle Pacific University Falcons in an overtime thriller by a score of 2-1.
Scott scored both goals, one in the first half and the second in overtime. The Broncos offensive power was put on display with 21 shots total, 12 of which were on target.
This weekend wrapped up the Broncos’ preseason play. They enter conference with a record of 4-2-0.
At 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, the Broncos will look to extend their winning streak when the Cal State San Bernardino Coyotes come to Kellogg Stadium for the first California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) conference match.
