ST. PAUL, MINN. – The University of Northwestern men's soccer opened their season by hosting fellow Snelling Avenue foe, Bethel University. The Eagles suffered an ultimate 1-0 loss to the Royals, which came after a hard fought battle. The game was knotted up at 0-0 until the final two minutes, when Bethel would sneak in a goal to end the game.
 
The first half was a stalemate, as neither team was able to find the back of the net. Northwestern amassed three shots to the lone Bethel shot in the period. Each team's defense would not budge, however, as the sun set over Reynolds Field and the scoreless half ended.
 
Both teams turned their offense up a notch in the second half, as each of them put more shots on net. Northwestern freshman Isaiah Sharp (Madison, Wis./James Madison Memorial) looked to give the Eagles the lead in the fifty-eighth minute by rifling a shot from thirty yards out past the Bethel defense, but it was too high and careened off the cross bar. It appeared the game was heading into extra time, until the Royals were able to get a shot past UNW goalie Austin Gunkel (Arden Hills, Minn./Mounds View). The Eagles were unable to get any offense going before time expired.
 
Northwestern travels down to Iowa on Wednesday, September 4^th to take on Central College for their next contest. Fans can follow along with Eagle soccer at www.unweagles.com and @unwmsoc on Twitter.