SENATOBIA - Trailing 3-2 late in Tuesday evening's match against National Park College, Northwest needed a clutch opportunity to avoid dropping another loss on the Rangers' overall record.

In the 89th minute, sophomore Miller Thorsen did just that, scoring off an assist from Rodrigo Bandeira to tie the match at its final point of 3-3.

For Thorsen, who had battled injuries early in the season, the goal was his second score of the season. While it might not have been the game-winner Northwest wanted, it did help the Rangers move to 1-7-3 overall and deny the visiting Nighthawks a chance to steal a road victory.

Northwest struck first just over a minute into the match, as Kamden Viverette recorded his first goal of the season off an assist from Tyler Starnes. The celebration was short-lived however, as Linberth Soriano provided the equalizer in the fifth minute for National Park College.

After spending the next 15 minutes deadlocked in a 1-1 tie, Soriano headed in a go-ahead goal for the Nighthawks, thanks to an assist from Ali Muganga in the 21st minute. The Rangers promptly responded in the 35th minute, as freshman Michael Sanders earned his first goal of the season on an unassisted play, sending the match to a 2-2 draw at halftime.

Neither team was able to break the tie in the first 30 minutes of the second half, but Muganga recorded his second assist in the 75th minute, feeding a kick to Jack Avery who put the shot past Jacob Little. 

Just when it seemed like the Nighthawks were gearing up for the win, Bandeira found Thorsen on a breakaway for the tying score with less than two minutes remaining in regulation.

National Park College out-shot Northwest 23-9 on the evening, with the Nighthawks holding a 9-4 margin in shots on-goal. Little recorded six saves for the Rangers, while Tim Grahmann finished with just one save for NPC.

National Park also finished with six corner kicks, compared to three for Northwest, all taken by Will Waltrip. Both teams combined for 19 fouls, with 11 whistled against the Rangers.

A total of four cautions were issued, three of which came against Northwest. Ben Marchetta picked up the first yellow card in the 25th minute, while Sanders was issued a caution in the 57th minute. Sean Restrepo was hit with the final yellow card for the Rangers in the 89th minute, while Irvin Martinez received the only caution for NPC in the 71st minute.

With the loss, the Nighthawks dropped to 2-5-1 on the season. NPC is coached by former Northwest women's soccer assistant Corey Irvine.

Northwest now turns its attention back to MACCC competition, welcoming 14th-ranked Hinds to Senatobia on Friday, October 4 at 6 P.M. The Eagles (8-0-2, 2-0-2 MACCC) are most recently coming off a scoreless draw at No. 9 Jones College.

Broadcast coverage of Friday's match will be provided on Ranger TV. Read Full Article