AZUSA, Calif. – After the pregame celebration, the Cougars went ahead and continued the festivities during the game.
Azusa Pacific won their eighth straight game with a 3-0 victory against Hawaii Hilo to close out their regular season home schedule.
Prior to the game the Cougars honored a trio of seniors as Mayra Almazan, Cassidy Burr and Haley Fisher were recognized prior to their last regular season home game.
"For me each one of them is a quality person. They always put others first and they are individuals who really reflect the Lord," said head coach Jason Surrell. "Mayra is a Hall of Fame type player in my mind. We are a better team when she is on the player. Cassidy has grown every year since arriving on-campus and has a strong desire to play hard every game. For Haley it is great to see her have success recently. She has been such a positive individual since joining the program. I can not say enough positive things about these three ladies."
In Saturday's win the Cougars (13-2, 9-2 PacWest) were dominate from the start. They outshot the Vulcans by a 30-5 tally and held a 6-1 edge in corner kicks.
After pressing towards goal for most of the opening minutes, the Cougars finally broke through in the 15th minute. Katelyn Rogers made space with a nice move just inside the left corner flag then played a perfect ball towards the far post. Fisher took care of the rest as she deposited the ball into the cage for her third goal in the last two games.
Despite numerous opportunities in the final 30 minutes of the stanza, Azusa Pacific couldn't get a two-goal cushion. The Cougars had 17 total shots; eight of which went on frame. The Cougars also held a 4-1 edge in corner kicks during the opening half. They did find the back of the net on another occasion but the Katelyn Rogers apparent goal was nullified because of an offside.
Thirteen minutes into the second half Fisher continued her scoring outburst. The senior headed home a beautiful cross off the right side from Haley Arft to give the Cougars a 2-0 lead. Less than two minutes later Fisher thought she had a hat trick after finding the back of the cage but she was whistled for being offside.
"Man, what can you say about Haley these last two games with four goals. We had a good conversation on a recent road trip about some frustration she had about not scoring this season but she has persevered and it is great to see her get rewarded this past week," Surrell said.
With 20 minutes left the Vulcans (5-7-2, 4-7) had a sequence where they had two shots inside the box but one shot was blocked aside by the Cougars defense and the other was saved by goal keeper Sarah Klinkenberg. Those were the best opportunities the visitors had.
The final goal of the game came with just over four minutes remaining when Rogers scored her team leading eighth net finder of the season. She received a nice long ball from Cara Scammon before settling the ball and cracking a shot inside the box.
With the shutout the Cougars recorded their ninth of the season and third in-a-row. Klinkenberg made two saves in posting the zero on the scoreboard.
Azusa Pacific wraps up the regular season with a trip to the Bay Area on Thursday and Saturday when they play Holy Names and Dominican respectively. The NCAA selection show for the post season is slated for Monday, Nov. 9 at 3:30 p.m. (PDT). Currently the Cougars are in prime position to earn a bid.
