Box Score

NAMPA, Idaho — There's never a moments rest in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, regardless who you upset your last time out.

Riding high after beating 11^th-ranked Seattle Pacific on Thursday, the Northwest Nazarene women's soccer team had to regroup quickly for a battle Saturday against visiting Western Oregon, a contest that went two overtimes before the Crusaders earned a hard-fought, 2-2 draw.
 

"It was a long, hard weekend," said NNU head women's soccer coach Mary Trigg. "We didn't play our best today, but I'm proud of our effort and that we never gave up.

"Our players off the bench made a difference for us today," the Crusaders coach added as Rachel Ball came off the bench to tie the game in the first half and sub Hannah Holm set up another game-tying goal late for NNU.

Ball's first goal of the season proved to be dramatic, and tied the score 1-1 with 7 minutes, 17 seconds left until halftime.

After Vicky Cruz Rosales scored to put the Wolves (4-3-1 overall, 0-2-1 GNAC) on top in the 13^th minute, NNU battled hard looking to even the score.

Ball did just that, taking a pass from Lexi Fesenbek, running down the right side of the field, then from an impossible angle blasting a shot toward goal.

Almost impossible, as it turned out, as Ball's shot banged off the left post and in, knotting the score, 1-1.
 

The Wolves answered 8:36 into the second half, forcing the Crusaders (4-3-1, 1-1-1) into comeback mode again.

Pressing forward late in the game, Holm got a ball on the left side and centered it to Fesenbek, who battled her way through a Western Oregon defender to get to the ball and blast a shot into the Wolves goal, forcing overtime with just 1:08 left in regulation.

While both teams had a couple of shots in the extra sessions, neither team could find the back of the net as both left the field with one point to their credit in the GNAC standings.

Daniele Ortiz made seven saves in the game for NNU, which now hits the road for game at Central Washington on Thursday, then a rematch with SPU in Seattle on Saturday.