THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – In the opening day of the two-day Inaugural Tina Finali Invitational hosted by Cal Lutheran, Azusa Pacific won the opener in convincing fashion before falling in a high school second game.
On Saturday Azusa Pacific concludes the event with a morning game against La Verne before facing off with Cal State East Bay.
Game One – Azusa Pacific 12, Cal Lutheran 4
The Cougars raced out to a 6-0 lead and never looked back in recording the win.
During the opening frame, Courtney Folsom and Alba Espinar each scored twice and Maryann Slama added another net finder as Azusa Pacific went up 5-0 after the opening frame.
A Taylor Whitney tally gave the Cougars a six-goal spread before the host school scored their first goal. Undaunted by the Regals goal, Folsom completed her hat trick and Ashley Taylor added a goal as well and Azusa Pacific was well on their way to the win.
Azusa Pacific won the third period 2-1 as Espinar scored her third goal of the game while Slama added a goal. The teams split four games in the final period with Taylor and Morgan Hage scoring for the Cougars.
Game Two – Villanova 14, Azusa Pacific 12
The Cougars were just a beat behind Villanova the entire game. Despite a second half rally, the Cougars effort came-up just short.
A Courtney Folsom goal gave Azusa Pacific their only lead of the contest 18 seconds into the game. After the goal the Wildcats proceeded to scored three straight goals. Trailing 3-1, Alba Espinar stemmed the tide with a goal just past the stanza's halfway point. Yet another Wildcats goal increased their lead. On the extra person attack during the Cougars next possession Mary Slama made the score 4-3 with 2:06 left. Unfortunately for the Cougars a high scoring period ended with two Villanova goals.
Villanova's Callan Edwards gave her squad their largest lead of the afternoon, 7-3, with the first goal of the second period. Alex Paxton and Megan Myers scored for the Cougars in the period but the Wildcats responded each time as they held a 9-6 lead at the game's halfway point.
Azusa Pacific's offense was in full force in the third period as they outscored the Wildcats 5-3 during those eight minutes. The Cougars tied the scored at 10-10 when Taylor Whitney scored with 3:50 remaining. After Villanova retook the lead, Ashley Taylor found the back of the cage to re-tie the game at 11-11 with 36 ticks left in the period. Villanova scored the final goal of the period with 10 seconds left as they took a critical 12-11 lead into the last period.
Another Edwards goal put Villanova in front 13-11 with 5:26 left in the game. Myers brought the Cougars within one goal at 13-12 with 3:33 remaining. However, the Wildcats made it a two-goal game when Lizzie Louwers scored with 100 seconds left. Azusa Pacific couldn't draw any closer.
