Western Oregon Journal

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Chesney McHan, the only substitute used by Western Head Coach Rod Fretz, came up with the winning goal off a rebound. The goal ended a 106-minute two-overtime game for the Wolves soccer team, giving the squad a 1-0 win last Thursday, Nov. 3, over the Northwest Nazarene Crusaders.

The win was the Wolves' eighth of the season to go along with 12 losses. Western finished 5-7 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) play.

The constant rain on Thursday brought muddy gaming conditions and had an effect on both teams in the first half. The Crusaders only mustered up four first-half shots compared to Western's three.

The Wolves peppered the Northwest Nazarene goal with 16 shots in the second half, but still could not get a goal due to the outstanding play of Crusaders goalkeeper Amanda Merrell. She finished with 13 saves on the day to Amanda Nelson's one save in the Western net in her final game as a collegian.

Western finished with 21 shots, 14 of them on goal. The Crusaders came up with eight shots for the game. Senior Megan Moore, like Nelson, played in her final collegiate game and came up with five shots to lead the Wolves. Sophomore Becky Myrold also had five shots on the day.

The Wolves committed 21 fouls compared to just 10 for Northwest Nazarene.

Western posted seven corner kicks to the Crusaders' six.

Coach Fretz was pleased with the team's efforts on the final game of the season.

"We really dominated, particularly in the second half, but it is hard to score in such muddy, wet conditions," coach Fretz said. "But again, our perseverance paid off in overtime."

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