By James Hernandez 

Before Southern Nevada arrived in Herriman, Utah for a conference showdown with the #3 ranked Salt Lake Community College Bruins, they would face a stiff final non-conference test in Prescott, Arizona versus the Yavapai College Roughriders.

CSN arrived in Prescott, Arizona Tuesday evening looking to keep the momentum of a pair of shutout victories going as they prepared for its final non-conference test of the 2018 season.

Both teams were cautious early, taking a defensive approach to the opening half. That effort by both teams led to a scoreless first half in which CSN outshot YC 7-4. Yavapai's Esteban Franco scored two goals in the opening 12 minutes of the second to stun the Coyotes and establish a 2-0 edge for the Roughriders. Reigning Region XVIII player of the year Manuel Ponce cut Yavapai's lead in half (2-1) at the 64 minute mark courtesy of a perfect dime off the foot of Marcos Delangel-Parra. The match would remain 2-1 until the Roughriders were able to tack on a pair of late goals courtesy of Garrett Hite, that made the match seem a lot more lopsided then it actually was. Southern Nevada fell to 6-2-1 after dropping its final non-conference match of 2018 to Yavapai College 4-1.

The much anticipated "showdown in Salt Lake" began favorably for Southern Nevada as Luis Olandez converted a perfect feed off the boot of Manuel Ponce, at the 17 minute mark of the opening half to stake Southern Nevada to the early 1-0 lead. Despite being outshot 8-4 in the opening half, solid defense and goalkeeping allowed the Coyotes to take a 1-0 edge into intermission.

The defensive intensity continued in the second half, however the Bruins Enoch Mushagalusa scored the equalizer at the 53 minute mark of the match to knot things up 1-1. Both teams saw multiple scoring opportunities extinguished until an odd man break created by SLCC resulted in the go-ahead goal of the match by Enoch Mushagalusa, his second of the match in the 73^rd minute. Despite some quality looks at the net Southern Nevada was turned away and eventually dropped the match 2-1.

The loss dropped the Coyotes to 3-2 in SWAC play and 6-3-1 overall.

After dropping a heartbreaker to the Bruins less than 24 hours earlier, CSN looked to regroup, earn a split with the 3^rd ranked Bruins and avoid its first three match losing streak of the season. Both came out with a sense of urgency and determination, contesting every ball while not surrendering an inch to its opponents. With both sides taking care of business defensively the first 45 minutes of the match concluded with neither team denting the scoreboard. Southern Nevada picked up its offensive attack in the second half, outshooting Salt Lake 7-3.

Unfortunately for CSN those shots were turned away and in the 56th minute Innocent Twishime ignited the Bruin faithful with the only goal of the match, giving SLCC a 1-0 lead. The Coyotes were aggressive for the remainder of the half, but could not breakthrough against one of the top defenses in NJCAA soccer. CSN was defeated 1-0 by SLCC, dropping its conference record to 3-3 and its overall mark in 2018 to 6-4-1.

Fans your Coyotes will host the Snow College Badgers in crucial conference action Friday October 5^th and Saturday October 6^th.

For match times, ticketing options and live match updates all weekend log onto www.csncoyotes.com or follow us on Facebook CSNCoyotes and Twitter @CSN_MSoc.