IRVINE, Calif. -- If Azusa Pacific is to win its fifth GSAC title in the past 7 years, then these are the game it needs to win.
Despite getting outplayed for much of the first half, the NAIA's No. 2-ranked Cougars got goal from Shannon Coe midway through the second half and then hung on for a crucial 1-0 GSAC-opening win at Concordia.
The win moves the Cougars to 5-0-1 overall, 1-0 GSAC. Concordia falls to 1-5-1, 0-1.
"We played that first half like we had just stepped off the bus," said Azusa Pacific head coach Jason Surrell. "Of course, we haven't traveled much this year, and this field is tough to play on. That combination wasn't good for us at the start, but we adjusted."
That adjustment he's talking about was the insertion of Angela James into the line-up after the intermission. James came into the center midfielder and almost single-handidly took the game over.
"Angela was probably the best player on the field today," said Surrell. "This was a tale of 2 halves, and what she did in the midfield changed the game for us. She did everything--winning free balls in the air, distributing key balls, she did it all. She is easily the most fit player on our team, and she works as hard as anyone else, and it all came together for her today."
The other half of the story, though, yet again was Coe. She scored her sixth goal in as many games, and it was her third game-winner of the season. She took a pass from Stephanie Weber and in the 62nd minute rifled a 20-yard blast into the upper corner of the net.
In 3 of the Cougars' past 4 games, Coe has accounted for each of the Cougars' goals—a 1-0 overtime win over Cal Poly Pomona (Sept. 7), a 1-1 tie with No. 1-ranked Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) (Sept. 16) and then today.
"That was one of the hardest hit balls I've seen in a long time," said Surrell. "The keeper had no chance."
Last season, these same teams played to a 2-2 tie in the GSAC opener in Azusa after the Cougars erased a 2-0 deficit with 2 late goals, including the tying goal in the final seconds. Today, while not as dramatic, it was still a heart stopper.
Freshman GK Jill Colfer needed to make 7 key saves, including 6 in the first half, to preserve the shutout, the second of her brief career. The Cougars have now allowed just one goal in more than 560 minutes of play.
Concordia outshot Azusa Pacific, 14-10, for the game, including a 10-3 mark in the first half.
"They are a good team with dangerous players," said Surrell. "They've just been unlucky with their results so their record doesn't reflect how good they really are. That second half though was as well as we've played all year. It's a good win."
