TAHLEQUAH – Amid rainy conditions that resulted in an hour-and-a-half weather delay and a move to Gable Field at Doc Wadley Stadium, No. 24 Northeastern State (7-5-3, 5-4-1 GAC/MIAA) emerged victorious in a 3-2 encounter with Newman (4-8-3, 3-6-1 GAC/MIAA) Saturday afternoon.
The win places NSU closer to making their goals of another spot in the GAC/MIAA tournament a reality. Their victory, paired with Harding's loss today at No. 17 Southern Nazarene, places the RiverHawks four points above the cut line entering the final week of the regular season. NSU will clinch a postseason berth with a win across either of the regular season's final two matches next week.
The RiverHawks were able to find offense relatively early into the rain-soaked matchup with the Jets, as
Martin Martinez struck in the 11th minute for his fourth goal of the season off an assist from
Ben Mings.
Donovan Aparicio kicked the advantage up to multiple scores with NSU's second conversion of the day, with
Edson Marchan coming off the bench to provide the junior with an assist.
After taking a 2-0 score to the break,
William De Dios landed the first blow of the second half, giving the RiverHawks a commanding three-goal lead off an assist from
Davi Dornelles. NU wouldn't go away quietly, as they mounted two unanswered over the remaining time, but failed to find a third make to counter NSU's initial onslaught of offense.
NSU will take the pitch at DeLoache Field for one final time in 2023 with their Senior Night matchup on Thursday, Nov. 2 against Ouachita Baptist at 7 p.m.
