NAMPA, Idaho - The Northwest Nazarene men's soccer team battled to a 1-1 draw against the University of Sioux Falls this afternoon in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference match at the NNU Soccer Field.

Sioux Falls (1-11-3, 1-8-3 GNAC) scored early in the match when Ryan Keohane chipped in a Juan Duque-Delgado throw-in from four yards away in just the third minute of play.

The Crusaders (7-4-5, 6-2-4 GNAC) settled down and controlled the play for the remainder of the half, evening the count at 1-1 in the 45th minute when Stephen Marshall converted a penalty kick after Sioux Falls was whistled for a foul in the goal box.

The Crusaders out-shot the Cougars 21 to five overall and forced USF goalkeeper Kyle Simons into nine saves on the day.  NNU keeper Alfredo Ontiveros made three saves.

"I have to give Sioux Falls credit for working very hard," commented NNU head coach Coe Michaelson.  "But from our perspective it is tough to accept, when you look at the number of opportunities we squandered."  The Crusaders struck the post three times and hit the crossbar once with shots during the match.

"Monday is a new day, so we have to get over our frustration and put in a similar performance with a better final product."

The Crusaders will host the University of Mary on Monday afternoon in a GNAC match that begins at 4:00 p.m.