BLUE MOUNTAIN - Four first half goals put Northwest in a sizable deficit at halftime and Blue Mountain College added three more in the final 45 minutes to shut out the Rangers, 7-0, in Thursday's season opener.
Although the match counted for the Rangers (0-1), it was only an exhibition for the Toppers due to NAIA regulations.
Northwest held Blue Mountain scoreless through the first 10 minutes of the match, but the Toppers' Alfie Maynard knocked in the first goal off a previous deflection off the crossbar from Ruben Kuypers. BMC added another goal in the 17th minute from Kuypers, before stretching the lead to 3-0 in the 20th minute.
Despite keeping the Toppers off the board for nearly the rest of the first half, Northwest surrendered another score in the 39th minute and headed into the break in a 4-0 hole. Blue Mountain added three more goals in the early to mid stages of the second half, before being held scoreless for the final 25 minutes by the Rangers.
Blue Mountain out-shot Northwest 26-6 over the full 90 minutes, with the Toppers taking a 14-5 margin in shots on-goal. The home team also took four corner kicks and racked up 11 fouls, compared to six by the Rangers.
Tyler Heger and
Connor Young split equal time at goalkeeper, with Young earning two saves in the first half, while Heger collected five saves in the second half.
Northwest will resume action on Tuesday, August 23 at Belhaven. Kickoff is scheduled for 5:30 P.M. from Jackson.
