PORTLAND, Ore. – Kristi Andreassen recorded her second career goal and first of the season, yet Northern Arizona soccer dropped a 3-1 decision to Washington on Sunday at the Clive Charles Soccer Complex. The Lumberjacks' opponents this weekend, No. 6 Portland and Washington, had a combined record of 11-1-0 so far this season.

NAU (2-5-1) entered play on Sunday looking to avenge a 7-0 defeat against No. 6 Portland. Unfortunately, the Lumberjacks were matched up with yet another quality program in Washington (6-0) and ultimately were defeated by a talented Pac-10 team. Still, head coach Andre Luciano made no excuses for the team's third-consecutive defeat.

“I don't think we have quite put together 90 minutes of mistake free soccer yet this season,” Luciano said. “We had two mistakes in the second half and have to clean that up. We have four games before conference starts and we need to get back on the right track—get back to putting goals in the back of the net and containing teams defensively.”

As in the Portland match, the Lumberjacks had the misfortune of falling behind in the early going with a goal from Washington's Melissa Beal in the 4th minute.

The score remained 1-0 until the 51st minute when Andreassen blasted a shot past the Huskies' Alex Phillips. Sarah Vallen picked up the assist after her shot rebounded off Phillips back to the defender Andreassen.

NAU had little time to celebrate as Washington answered the Lumberjacks' call with two goals in the next 10 minutes.

Natasha Slaughter started in goal for NAU during Sunday's match, the first start of her career. A local product from Flagstaff High School, Slaughter faced 22 shots and made eight saves. Tori Rocke has started the previous seven matches.

“I thought Natasha had a good game,” Luciano said. “She only made one mistake. For a true freshman goalkeeper that is pretty solid. We are just trying to figure out who will get it done. Until someone completely dominates in back-to-back games we will probably be switching off."

The Lumberjacks return to Flagstaff next weekend for the 8th Annual Mountain Classic. Louisiana-Monroe and Boise State will open play at 4 p.m. on Friday with the Lumberjacks and VMI facing off at 7 p.m.