With the victory, the Cougars advance to the NAIA semifinals where they will meet No. 1-ranked, defending national champion and tourney host University of Mobile (Ala.) at 10 a.m. (PST) on Friday (Nov. 27). It's a match-up of the only undefeated teams left in the NAIA.

Sophomore All-American forward Kendra Payne (La Verne, Calif./Bonita HS) scored a pair of goals to lead the Cougar attack. For Payne it was her second and third goals of the NAIA tourney and her 19th and 20th of the season. She now has 100 career points in just 2 seasons and becomes only the second Cougar ever to tally 100 career points.

"Kendra has stepped it up in this tourney," said second-year Cougar coach Christian Johnson. "She is playing great up front, and playing intelligent soccer. There are few, if any, people in this tourney who can match up with her defensively."

Fellow sophomore Rachel Messick (Chino Hills, Calif./Ontario Christian HS) got the Cougars on the board with her second goal of the tourney, scoring in the 29th minute. Payne added her first goal to give the Cougars a 2-0 halftime lead.

Payne added her second goal just 7 minutes into the second half. Sophomore MF Andrea Alfiler (Kapaa, Hawaii/Kapaa HS) finished off the scoring with 2 goals of her own.

For the second straight game, the Cougar defense limited the opposition to just 2 shots. As a result, Azusa Pacific recorded its school-record 15th shutout of the season.

"All the backs are playing well," added Johnson. "Right now, (senior defender) Kerri Sparks has this presence that she is not going to get beat and she is going to get every 50-50 ball."

The Cougars, who are making their first-ever NAIA appearance, will most likely meet Mobile in Friday's semi-final.

"I think the best 2 teams in this tourney are going to play on Friday," added Johnson. "We going to have to neutralize 2 incredible forwards. And Andrea is going to have to shut down a great playmaker. We know we're going to have a battle on our hands, and I expect our players to be up and focused. We have to get Mobile on their heels in the first 15-20 minutes. This is going to be a war."

The other semifinal match-up pits Lindenwood University (Mo.) against Simon Fraser University (B.C.) at 2:30 p.m. (PST) on Friday.

Scoring by Periods
Houghton (18-3-0)        0   0  --   0
Azusa Pacific (23-0-0)   2   3  --   5

GOALS:  Payne (AP) 2, Alfiler (AP 2, Messick (AP)
ASSISTS:  Messick (AP) 2, Myers (AP), Restivo (AP)
SAVES:  Yanos (AP) 1, HC 7
SHOTS:  APU 20, HC 2
FOULS:  APU 9, HC 8
CORNER KICKS:  APU 11, HC 0