ALVA, Okla. — Southern Nazarene faced a tough battle Thursday night in Alva, Oklahoma as Northwestern Oklahoma State's late second-half spurt sealed the 5-2 win. 

The match was tight for most of the first half until the Rangers (5-4-2, 2-2-1) caught fire in the final seven minutes, scoring two goals to run away from the Storm (4-5-2, 1-3-2). 

The first goal of the match was awarded to SNU in the seventh minute when Josie Van Pelt found Fallon Weatherford in the gap. The Rangers answered in the 14th minute with a score of their own, tying the match at 1-1. 

Later in the first half, NWOSU went on to score two more, gaining a 3-1 lead with five minutes remaining. Those would be the last of the goals scored in the first half, and Northwestern held a 3-1 advantage going into halftime. 

SNU picked up the pace out of the break as Hannah Schaffer and Weatherford teamed up to find Avery Pyle for the goal, cutting the Storm's deficit to just one goal. 

The Rangers took control later in the second half, scoring their 4th goal in the 83rd minute to grow their lead to 4-2. NWOSU went on to score one more in the final seconds of the match, taking the 5-2 victory over SNU. 

Weatherford recorded three shots on goal for SNU. Van Pelt tallied three shots on the evening. 

The Storm will return home for another big matchup as the Southwestern Oklahoma State Bulldogs head to Bethany Saturday, October 8th for a 6:00 pm kick-off. The Bulldogs have achieved a 3-0-2 conference record, earning wins over Oklahoma Baptist, NWOSU, and Harding.