AZUSA, Calif. -- Call it heart, determination, intestinal fortitude, passion, resilience, grit, or fight. Call it whatever you want, but the fact of the matter is Azusa Pacific has it.
Faced with near impossible odds for the second straight match, the NAIA's No. 3-ranked Cougars defied the odds, played two-thirds of the match a man down but still earned a come-from-behind 2-1 win over No. 23 Biola on a soggy field Thursday in Azusa.
"I believe in these guys," said Azusa Pacific head coach Phil Wolf. "Everything was against us, and we showed great courage. On the day they were fantastic. That was some of the best stuff we've seen all year."
With the win, Azusa Pacific remains unbeaten at 13-0-1 overall and maintains its one-game lead in the GSAC at 7-0 with 3 to play. The Cougars overcame a 2-goal deficit for a 3-2 win over Vanguard Saturday, which gave them sole possession of first place. Biola falls to 8-3-3, 3-2-2.
It was Azusa Pacific-Biola so not much was needed to get things rolling, but things got revved up in the 12th minute. Chandler Harris received a controversial red card when his tackle for a 50-50 ball that he won sent Joel Thompson to the ground with a serious leg injury. The game was delayed for nearly 30 minutes as Thompson was carted off the field.
The Cougars played the next 60 minutes a man down. The Eagles took advantage benefiting from another a questionable call—this time in the box. Biola's Christian Rus was taken down by Cougar GK Morgan Cathey on the end line as the ball was heading out of bounds for a Cougar goal kick. Nonetheless, the Eagles were awarded a penalty kick, and Dylan Martinez converted it in the 41st minute for a 1-0 Eagle lead that stood until halftime.
"The first 10 minutes after the card, we played perfectly," said Wolf. "Then we lost control of the game and they got their goal. I just wanted to get to halftime at 1-0, because I knew that if we could get to the 70th minute at 1-1 we'd be able to get it done. We went to a 3-4-2, because we're at home and we're going for the win."
Coming out of the second half, though, when they could have packed it in for the day down 1-0 and a man down, the Cougars became the aggressors and caught the Eagles on their heels. Just 8 minutes into the second half, Brandon Stirm controlled a ball on the right sideline just inside the midfield stripe. Stirm sent a looping ball over the defense that Andriy Budnyy ran onto on the right side and from 25 yards out rifled a bullet on the ground to the far post and into the net to get the equalizer in the 54th minute.
The Cougars continued to control play, generating a number of chances, all while playing a man down. The Cougars eventually out-shot the Eagles, 18-15.
"If we just keep moving the ball, pass and move, teams have to chase us," said Wolf. "Once we established that in the second half, we controlled play and away we went."
In the 73rd minute, Biola's Steve Gizzi was issued a red card and the sides were even again.
Just 2 minutes after Gizzi's red card and dismissal from the game, Stirm again served a ball into the box from the right side. Ian Leibbrandt found himself on the other end of this one, rose above the defense and headed it just inside the near post for his eighth of the season and the game-winner.
The Eagles threatened in the waning minutes, but Cathey came up with one of his 3 saves to stone the chance and preserve the win.
"Stirm played a beautiful, amazing ball and I was able to get on the other end of it," said Leibbrandt, who now ranks ninth on the Cougars' career points' chart with 69 points. "We're willing to go through anything as long as we're together as a team. We were down, odds were against us, and we had nothing going for us. But we showed passion and heart. It was a great team effort."
