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BETHANY, Okla. – The No. 16-ranked Northeastern State men's soccer team defeated Southern Nazarene 2-1 Thursday night at Wes Harmon Field.
 
The RiverHawks (5-2, 3-0 MIAA) remained unblemished in conference play, while the Crimson Storm dropped to 2-6 overall and 1-1 in the league.
 
Northeastern State got on the board first when a rebound shot from freshman forward Justin Todd in the 27th minute found the back of the net.
 
SNU equalized five minutes into the second half when Mitchell Johnson scored an unassisted marker, but senior forward Juan Peralta put away the game-winning goal in the 70th minute on a pass from fellow senior forward Jordan Schmoker.
 
Northeastern State outshot Southern Nazarene 19-16 and led in corner kicks 6-5.
 
Junior goalkeeper Eric Shephard (1-0) appeared in his first match of the season and earned the win after making four saves. Jeff Ray (2-5) took the loss for the Crimson Storm after saving five shots and conceding two goals.
 
The RiverHawks remained at the top of the conference table with nine points in the early stages of league play.
 
NSU will now return home for a 1 p.m. tilt Sept. 27 against Harding. The Bisons (2-2-1, 2-0 MIAA) defeated Southwest Baptist 6-1 Thursday afternoon.
 
Scoring Summary
NSU                 1          1          –          2
SNU                 0          1          –          1
 
Individual Scoring
Justin Todd (NSU) at 26:32 (unassisted)
Mitchell Johnson (SNU) at 50:24 (unassisted)
Juan Peralta (NSU) at 69:28 (Jordan Schmoker)
 
Goalkeeper Saves
Eric Shephard (NSU) – 4
Jeff Ray (SNU) – 5

NORTHEASTERN STATE COACH ROB CZLONKA
Statement...
"To stay unbeaten in conference is our ultimate goal. The fact that Southern Nazarene has beaten other teams at their place is significant. This is a good team and we are very happy to be able to get the win. Our guys played a solid game. We grinded it out once we got the lead, and we're continually improving on how to finish a game when we go ahead. Justin Todd had one of the best substitutions of the season. He comes on and gets a goal a minute in. We have been working on a certain type of shot with him in practice, and he hit that exact shot tonight. He tucked it into the low right corner, which is what we've been trying to get him to do. Hayden (Rasmussen) and Crosby (Lee) worked very well in the midfield together. Jordan and Adam (Schmoker) were very creative and dangerous. They were both getting forward and creating opportunities. Saturday's game between the last two undefeated teams in the MIAA is going to be exciting. Harding is always a tough challenge, and we're looking forward to playing them in front of our home fans."
 
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