Friday’s loss aside, the Northwest University women’s soccer team made history as the first unseeded team to make the NAIA final four — ever.

Kirkland-based Northwest University (NU) lost to Northwest Ohio in Orange Beach, Ala. on Dec. 2, snapping a streak of upsets that led the Eagles past the No. 6 and No. 14 teams in the nation. The Eagles beat Biola University in California on Nov. 19, beat Ottawa University on penalties on Nov. 29 and Reinhardt 4-1 in the quarterfinal on Nov. 30.

Oh, and Bryan Chud is in his first season as a head coach, of any sport at any level.

Chud is a Northwest alumnus and a member of the NU Hall of Fame Class of 2015, and didn’t even consider coaching until visiting campus for the induction ceremony. He assisted with the men’s team last season, and Northwest offered him the women’s 11 months ago.

“I actually said no twice,” Chud said. “The third time, my wife said, ‘why don’t you consider this? It’s a big open door and a good opportunity if you want to coach.’”

Chud, who played for NU from 1999-2002, inherited a young team. The Eagles have five seniors and four juniors on the roster, which is dominated by 11 sophomores and eight freshmen. The national tournament wasn’t really a goal, let alone the final four.

“I kind of wanted to have a successful season and not be too tough on the girls,” Chud said. “With a new coach in, and stuff, we weren’t expecting to go this far by any means.”

But as the season when on, the young team grew in confidence. The Eagles beat Eastern Oregon and Southern Oregon in the conference tournament, then lost to Carroll College in the conference championship match. Northwest qualified for the national tournament with a low seed, and by the time nationals had started, the Eagles were playing with nothing to lose.

With most of the team back next fall, the spotlight will certainly be on Northwest University as possible contenders at the conference and national level.

“We were able to fly under the radar this year and had that going for us,” Chud said. “Next year we wont have that. We’re not talking nationals [again], but we’ll take stock in what we’ve done and rebuild. We’ll add more experience, but I don’t know what to expect. The end goal is to go as far as we can.”

The Eagles finished the year with a 15-7-2 record. Senior midfielder Tiffany Taylor and freshman forward Jubilee Zavenbergen were all-conference first-team selections. Senior goalkeeper Lauren Hellum made the all-conference second team, and Sharaya Roberts and Tatyana Reveles were both honorable mentions.

The roster is full of players with local ties, including Brianna Sullivan and Winter Wirkala from Bellevue College. Zavenbergen led the team with 10 goals and six assists, including a goal and two assists in the second round of the national tournament.