AZUSA, CALIF. -- On the scoreboard it may not appear impressive, but at this point in time, the NAIA's No. 22-ranked Azusa Pacific isn't concerned with impressions. The Cougars are just glad to get a victory. After last week's disastrous results against Fresno Pacific and Biola, Azusa Pacific bounced back with a 2-0 Golden State Athletic Conference victory at Concordia, in Irvine Saturday afternoon.
Midfielder Matt Evans, the GSAC's top-scoring freshman, and junior defender Peter McGovern tallied the 2 goals (1 in each half) while senior GK Tim Gorman picked up his fifth shutout on the season.
They say the best defense is a good offense, and for a defense that had surrendered 6 goals in the past 2 games combined (the most by the Cougars in GSAC play since 1993), a good offense is what the Azusa Pacific needed against Concordia. So the Cougar frontline obliged, peppering the Eagle net with 35 shots, including 20 in the first half. All the while, Azusa Pacific was without the services of All-American and the team's second leading scorer Carlos Ochoa. On the reverse, Concordia managed just 2 shots, allowing a somewhat shell-shocked Cougar defense to regain its composure and confidence heading into Saturday's (Oct. 10) with the NAIA's No. 2-ranked and undefeated Westmont.
The victory gets Azusa Pacific into the win column in GSAC action. Azusa Pacific is now 8-3-1 overall, 1-2 in the GSAC. Concordia falls to 1-11-1 and 0-3.
Scoring by Halves
Azusa Pacific 1 1 -- 2
Concordia 0 0 -- 0
GOALS: Evans (APU), McGovern (APU)
SAVES: Gorman (APU) 0, Strahammer (APU) 0,
Pfotenhauer (CU) 11
SHOTS: APU 35, CU 2
FOULS: APU 13, CU 19
CORNER KICKS: APU 4, CU 0
