GOLDEN, CO- The Cougars took on Northwest Nazarene on Saturday at Victoria Kickers Sports Park in their second game of the season. It was a highly offensive affair as CCU took a 4-1 lead early in the second half, but the Nighthawks rallied back to claim the eventual 5-4 victory. 

The visitors from Idaho scored the games' first goal in the 6th minute, but Salvador Fernandes quickly equalized off a nice assist from Giovanni Carneiro to knot things up at 1-1. Lucas Peruzo then took a slotted pass from Tiago Gomes and hammered it home from the center of the box as the Cougars had momentum heading into halftime leading 2-1. 

The scoring continued for Colorado Christian as Gomes drew an early penalty as he was dragged down in the box near the back line. The Portugal native calmly slotted the penalty into the lower right side of the goal for a 3-1 advantage. A ball played in by Carneiro found its way to the feet of Peruzo again, and the Brazilian chipped it in as the 51st minute tally sent CCU ahead 4-1 after Gio's second assist of the match. 

A quick goal from NNU made it 4-2, and they began to pressure the Cougars as they searched for more goals. They found another in the 72nd minute, and they drew level in the 80th as the game intensified. With just under two minutes left in the game, Northwest Nazarene sealed the win with their fourth goal of the half as they won an improbable 5-4 decision. 

Peruzo notched his second and third goal of the season, while Gomes and Fernandes opened their scoring for the season in the high scoring affair. Keeper Campbell Wolfgram made three saves for his team, while Carneiro was highly effective with a pair of assists. 

The Cougars will now head down to Texas as they take on Dallas Baptist University on September 11 at 6 p.m. MST.