ALVA, Okla. – After a wild few days, Northwestern Oklahoma State women's soccer held its first home match Saturday night at the Alva Rec Complex. The Rangers (0-2-0) hosted the Northeastern State University Riverhawks (2-0-0) on a windy evening, wrapping up an unexpected set of back-to-back games for Northwestern.
After a slow start for the Rangers that saw Northeastern State go up 1-0 in the 13th minute, the Northwestern regrouped and countered with a strong offensive attack. Audrey Salas and Karla Lopez tested NSU keeper Brennan Hockett in the next few possessions with shots on goal but were unable to finish.
Freshman Kiara Fontanilla got the start in goal for the red-and-black marking her debut in a Ranger uniform. Despite a few early jitters, the California native stood tall for most of the game making five key saves.
It looked as though the teams would head into halftime with the Rangers trailing 1-0, but an unfortunate miscommunication led to a Rangers own-goal just 22 seconds before the break to give NSU a 2-0 advantage.
Northwestern ramped up its aggressive style of play in the second half and it led to a few scoring chances, but the NSU defense held their ground as they helped Hockett earn the shutout.
The Rangers will head out on a three-game road swing, with the first stop in Bolivar, Mo. as they are set to face Southwest Baptist University Sept. 6 at 4 p.m.
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