SENATOBIA - For about 70 minutes, Northwest gave third-ranked Northeast (Neb.) all it could handle.
Facing off against a powerful Hawks' offense, the Rangers kept the match scoreless until a goal in the 61st minute opened the floodgates, as Northwest dropped the 5-0 decision on Labor Day.
Northeast constantly fired off shots throughout the match, starting in the opening minute. Edouard Nys led the charge for the Hawks, shooting the ball 14 times with 12 shots on-goal. Luca Rosen was also active, with six of his eight shots coming on-goal.
Despite the obvious firepower from Northeast, the Rangers locked down the Hawks for the entire first half, as goalkeeper
Jacob Little finished with nine of his 23 saves in the first 45 minutes.
Northeast came out aggressive once more in the second half, and the Hawks finally broke the scoreless draw with Keigo Yoshida's goal in the 61st minute. Len Valkema made it a 2-0 lead for Northeast in the 69th minute, thanks to an assist from Ludovico Vicini.
Nearly 10 minutes later, a quick trio of goals from the Hawks all but clinched the win, as Rosen, Lewis Rourke and Finlay Stafford all came away with goals in the 78th, 79th and 82nd minutes.
For all of the Rangers' defensive efforts, Northwest was just unable to respond on offense. The Rangers got off five shots, with three attempts coming on-goal, but Northeast finished the day with 37 total shots, including a whopping 28 on-goal.
Northeast also attempted nine corner kicks, while the Rangers came away with none in the match. Both teams combined for 14 fouls, with
Ben Marchetta and the Hawks' Humberto Benavidez each finishing with cautions.
Northwest dropped to 0-3 with the loss, as Northeast improved to 4-1 on the season. The Rangers will look to find the win column on Thursday, September 5, when Central Baptist College pays a visit to Senatobia for a 6:30 P.M. match.
