TAHLEQUAH, Okla. — Southern Nazarene picked up their third straight win Saturday night after defeating Northeastern State 3-2, largely powered by Unaiz Shajani's impressive three-goal night to help seal the win.
Numbers were on the smaller side for both squads this match as the Riverhawks (6-3-2, 4-2-1) and the Storm (6-4-3, 4-1-2) combined for a total of 22 shots and 10 shots on goal. SNU's six total shots on goal was just enough to knock off the Riverhawks with Shajani claiming four in the contest.
SNU flooded the Riverhawk defense early, scoring a goal in the 12th minute as Bruno Ferreira found an open Shajani for his first score of the night. Five minutes later, Shajani caught fire once more, punching in another goal to push SNU to an early 2-0 start.
Northeastern was able to cut the Storm's lead down to one seven minutes after with a goal of their own, leaving SNU to work with a 2-1 lead with just under 20 minutes remaining in the first half.
Neither team saw much action the remainder of the first half and SNU walked into halftime with a 2-1 advantage over NSU.
Just four minutes into the second half, an SNU foul awarded the Riverhawks a penalty kick. Northeastern State took advantage, sending the ball right into the back of the net to tie it with SNU at 2-2.
Both teams fought for a lead throughout the second half as the match was at a standstill for the next 20 minutes. In the 74th minute, Nathaniel Mederos found Shajani in the gap for another Storm goal, making that Shajani's third of the night.
The Riverhawks were unable to answer with the 15 minutes remaining in the match and SNU claimed the 3-2 victory.
Shajani was awarded the hat trick, finishing with a total of four shots and four shots on goal.
Harei Maeda and Ferreira also tallied one shot on goal.
SNU heads back to Bethany for a matchup with Rogers State Thursday, October 13th with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m. SNU has already seen the Hillcats this season as the teams ended in a 1-1 draw last match.
