AZUSA, Calif. – On a steamy October afternoon, Azusa Pacific played solidly from the first whistle as they posted a 2-0 win against Hawaii Pacific.
The win lifts the Cougars record to 7-2 overall and 3-2 in PacWest games. Hawaii Pacific falls to 4-7 and 1-5 respectively.
"I thought we gave all the extra efforts and the extra fights. I'm really pleased with the way we persevered through the condition today. We wanted it today and it was inspiring to see," said head coach Jason Surrell. "Certainly a part of our game is to rotate players up top and with our depth I feel good about our role players."
The first great chance came in the fifth minute when Cougars leading scorer Katelyn Rogers deflected a pass from Mayra Almazan off the cross bar. Kai Hasegawa gave the Sharks an opportunity for an early lead but her boot from 25 yards out was blocked away by Azusa Pacific goal keeper Sarah Klinkenberg.
The goal keeper battled continued in the 26th minute as Hawaii Pacific's Kelby Boswell made a nice save on driving right footed shot by Victoria Kovatch. Moments later Almazan put a drive on the ball but Boswell scooped up the attempt. In the 35th minute Tanna Brinkman controlled the ball after a scramble but, once again, Boswell grabbed the attempt at the top of the box.
Azusa Pacific's persistence paid off in the 43rd minute when Rachel Curley scored her first collegiate goal when she snuck a pass from Mikaela Truckey pass Boswell and into the back of the net. Curley slid into the pass, which came from the right side, to give the Cougars a 1-0 halftime edge.
Mayra Almazan gave the Cougars a 2-0 lead in the 57th minute when she took a feed off a Truckey throw-in and streaked down the right side before booting the ball into the cage from 15 yards out.
"Mikaela has been showing some determination in practice and it has translated in games recently. Today especially she showed good anticipation when our front line player got behind their defense and played some good balls to them," Surrell said. "She is more than capable of being a regular contributor to our line-up."
Hawaii Pacific nearly had a goal from a free kick from nearly midfield. Hi'I Thomas cracked a shot that was headed to the upper portions of the net but Klinkenberg tipped it over the crossbar during the final 10 minutes. With two minutes left Stefanie Catone deflected a pass in from the cage on goal but Klinkenberg gobbled up the shot attempt.
Azusa Pacific dominated the stat sheet as they outshot the Sharks 21-5 including a 10-3 advantage in shots on frame. Each team took three corner kicks.
Klinkenberg made three saves for her second straight shutout.
