BISMARCK, N.D. - In the final home contest of the season, the University of Mary Men's Soccer team hope to send their seniors out on a high note as they took on Northwest Nazarene University to wrap up the MDU Resources Bowl portion of the schedule.
 
The Marauders (3-9-1, 2-7-0 GNAC) wasted little time going up on the Crusaders (9-4-1, 5-3-1 GNAC) but Northwest Nazarene unloaded a triad of goals through the remained of the half to hand U-Mary their third straight loss at home at 3-2.
 
Jordan Pearce took advantage of a defensive miscue from the Crusaders early on in the first half as he recorded a lightning-fast goal only 23 seconds into the match off a through pass from Ramsey Blahnik that put the Marauders on top at 1-0 before anybody knew what was going on.
 
U-Mary kept pouring on the shots as they took three more by the 15th minute with Ryan Foo saving a headed shot from Alex Boyes to keep the score at 1-0, and the Crusaders immediately went on the attack with Fernando Alvarez taking a shot on goal merely 25 seconds later that was saved by Ludvig Rhodin.
 
Alvarez took another shot in the 17th minute that was blocked by the Marauder's defense and Northwest Nazarene upped the pressure with four more shots by the 26th minute culminating in a goal from Erik Anderson that snuck by Rhodin off the previous shot attempt from Alex Mitrovic that ricocheted off the crossbar, evening the score at 1-1.
 
Tempers started to flare at that point with both teams pushing and shoving throughout the majority of the match, but Northwest Nazarene wore down U-Mary's defense and broke through again with a goal in the 31st minute off a throw-in from Julio Castillo to Michael Mollay, and the inevitable through pass from Mollay found Anderson who took the shot about six yards in front of the goal to put the Marauders on the backend of a 2-1 score.
 
U-Mary had a chance to even the score before the break after a foul from Northwest Nazarene gave the Marauders a free kick attempt from about 20 yards in front of the net, but the shot attempt from Adam Potter was saved by Foo once again to keep U-Mary staring at a pesky 2-1 deficit as both teams headed to the locker room.
 
Despite the chance to cool down between halves, neither team would give up ground early in the second half with frustration mounting for Northwest Nazarene and their only reward coming in the form of three cautions between the 48th and 50th minutes.
 
Unfortunately U-Mary couldn't capitalize on the lack of discipline as Northwest Nazarene extended their lead in the 63rd minute as Castillo sent a through pass to Alvarez on a breakaway who chipped the ball over Rhodin from about 18 yards in front of the net to put U-Mary down 3-1 in the match.
 
The Marauders did close in on the Crusaders in the 75th minute when Aaron Brennan took a free kick attempt from about 20 yards out that was saved by Foo, but James Liddiard, one of six U-Mary seniors playing in their final home match, corralled the rebound and sent it sailing past the defense to cut Northwest Nazarene's lead down to 3-2 with 15 minutes remaining.
 
U-Mary's last chance to send the match into overtime came in the 87th minute when Blahnik's shot was blocked by the Crusaders' defense and Jordan Pearce sent the follow-up attempt just over the net, leaving the Marauders empty handed as the 3-2 score became final.
 
Both teams were evenly matched as Northwest Nazarene only held a 17-15 shot advantage with both squads taking seven shots on goal, and there was an even count in the corner kicks as well with either side limited to three attempts through the match.
 
The Marauders will be on the road for the remainder of the season as they travel to Bellingham, Wash., next Thursday, October 22, for a rematch against Western Washington University, before heading to Burnaby, British Columbia, on Saturday, October 24, to take on Simon Fraser University.
 
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