AZUSA, Calif. – An energetic first half was followed up by a second 45 minutes that if you look away for too long you would have missed Azusa Pacific's five goals in their PacWest victory against Chaminade.
In the opening half the Cougars offense continually peppered Silverswords goal keeper Bernd Buescherhoff but numerous shots on goal were blocked away. Azusa Pacific continued to play with good energy as they were able to control a vast majority of the play in the first frame.
Despite outshooting the Silverswords 13-3 and holding a 5-1 edge on corner kicks, Azusa Pacific didn't find the back of net as the teams went into halftime with a pair of zeros on the scoreboard.
"I think we were a little sharper in the final third of the final in the second half compared to the first half," said head coach Dave Blomqust. "There were a number of possessions we had in the first half where we controlled the ball into the attacking third but we just couldn't find the final play. In the second half we were more precise."
Azusa Pacific efforts finally paid off on their 18th and 19th shots of the evening. In the 53rd minute Keenan Armbrust settled the ball and took two dribbles on the right side and blasted a left footed shot past Buescherhoff and inside the post for his third goal of the season.
Just a few minutes later Caleb Candelaria found himself in the offensive zone and the ball came to his feet. The junior scored his first goal of his collegiate career with a blast from just over 20 yards away from the cage.
The second half offensive onslaught continued as the Cougars found the back of the net three times in just over five minutes. The scoring spree began in the 68th minute when Kaleb Armbrust scored off a nice pass from Cesar Santos after misplay by Buescherhoff. Less than a minute later Santos got a goal of his own to make the score 4-0.
The three-goal spurt was completed in the 73rd minute when Devon Alvarez found the back of the cage off a beautiful feed from Keenan Armbrust. The five goals were accomplished during an eight shot output.
Azusa Pacific put up a season high 29 shots as they improved their record to 2-4-2 overall and 2-1-1 in league games. Chaminade remains winless in seven games.
The shutout was split in goal between Tyler Jaramillo and Jorge Pesquera.
"I think things have started to shift since the Point Loma game last week. Unfortunately we didn't get the result we wanted but since then the guys have more confidence and are playing better," Blomquist said. "We are playing sharper and we are feeling good about our direction right now."
