NAMPA, Idaho --- In a contest that saw seven goals - five in the second half - it was Western Oregon men's soccer coming through with the win thanks to an
Alex Grignon goal in the 89th minute to beat Northwest Nazarene 4-3 on Thursday at NNU Soccer Field.
The Wolves (5-2-1 overall, 2-0-1 GNAC), who led 2-0 at the half, found itself tied at 3-3 with the Nighthawks (2-4-3, 0-1-2) after an NNU goal in the 79th minute and with time winding down it appeared the contest was going to end in a draw.
But in the 89th minute with the ball bouncing in the penalty area,
Andres Labate headed it to
Gabriel Silva on the right side of the goal box before he headed back toward the middle where the 6-foot-4 Grignon was there to head it into the top-left corner for the victory.
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It was WOU who was in control of the contest early on as
Gabriel Silva scored in the 11th minute on a penalty kick before scoring again in the 28th minute (assisted by
Abraham Villalobos) to give the Wolves a 2-0 lead at the half. NNU tied the game within the first 15 minutes of the second half before
Jacob Garcia scored for the Wolves (assisted by
Marco Millan) to put WOU back on top in the 69th minute. Ten minutes later is when NNU scored before 10 minutes after that WOU won the game in the final minutes with the Grignon goal.
The Wolves were outshot 23-13 in the game, including 13-7 on shots on goal. WOU keeper
Juan Suarez finished with nine saves facing those 23 shots.
WOU returns home to take on Saint Martin's 11 a.m. Saturday in Monmouth.
