On Tuesday, the Raiders emerged victorious 4-3 on a long road trip to Cedar Rapids in a matchup against Mount Mercy. The win snapped a four game losing streak.
“This win was extremely important. After losing four in a row, this game was a turning point for our season,” said junior midfielder Gabriel Goncalves.
Not overtaken by bus lag, the Raiders outshot Mount Mercy 14-9 and 9-4 on shots on goal. In the 21st minute, senior midfielder Travis Sytsma, scored with his head after senior midfielder Nick Hengst had flicked the ball off a throw-in.
Mount Mercy took advantage of mistakes by the Raider defense and scored two consecutive goals. With only seven seconds left in the first half, sophomore forward Tukker Bogaard scored a clutch goal to tie it up 2-2.
Northwestern came out of the gates in the second half determined to take over the game. Sophomore forward Ryan Johnson made a slick move to maneuver around the goalkeeper and scored to put NW up 3-2.
The Raiders continued to pour it on in the 78th minute when junior Goncalves booted in a goal from the top of the box. After a late Mount Mercy goal, the Raiders left Cedar Rapids with a 4-3 win.
NW was led in shots by senior defender Harri Edwards with four and two on goal. Goncalves finished with three shots and all of them on goal.
On Saturday, the Raiders fell short 3-2 in a heartbreaking double overtime matchup with Jamestown. The Raiders outshot Jamestown 23-18 throughout the match, but failed to capitalize on the opportunities. After coming back from a 0-2 deficit and forcing two overtimes, the Raiders fell to Jamestown on shot with two minutes left in the second overtime.
Goncalves led the Raiders in shots with six, while freshman midfielder Wesley Lockwood had four. Sophomore Aaron Bosch recorded seven saves on goal. Goncalves scored on a free kick and Lockwood also found the back of the net.
The Raiders return to action on Friday with a road trip to La Crosse, Wisconsin to take on Viterbo University. Kickoff is at 5 p.m.
“We have two hard games coming up this weekend, and those will prepare us to come back and give our crowd the fun games they come to watch,” said Goncalves. “Our fans are fantastic and it is priceless to have them celebrating our success with us.”
