HAYWARD, Calif. - The Cougars scored the first to goals of the game, but ultimately fell 10-7 at Cal State East Bay. Sophomore Britt Harris scored her first of three goals at 6:40 in the first to open the scoring and senior teammate Alba Espinar added two first quarter goals to help the Cougars to a 3-2 lead with 2:20 left in first.

Scoresheet (PDF)

The lead didn't last long, as the Pioneers were able to score three times in the final minutes of the first to take a 5-3 lead into the second quarter.

The torrid scoring pace of the first slowed in the second, as each team only netted one. Pioneer senior Taylor Cross found the back of the cage with 7:32 remaining to extend the Cal State East Bay lead. Cougar sophomore Britt Harris netted her second goal of the game at 4:05 in the second to trim the lead back to two. The score held to halftime.

Both teams came out quickly in the second half, as Azusa Pacific junior Mar Pastor scored in under a minute to bring the lead down to one. Cross wouldn't let that stand, as she completed her hat trick 20 seconds later to pad the Pioneer led again to two. Britt Harris matched Cross' hat trick 18 seconds letter to again bring the Cougars within one.

Cross netted her game high fourth goal in the final moments of the third to give Cal State East Bay breathing room, but the Cougars held form and matched it 12 seconds into the fourth with an extra person attack goal from freshman Annalise Batcheller to bring the score the score to 8-7 in favor of the Pioneers.

Azusa Pacific was unable to draw even through the rest of the fourth quarter, and the Pioneers added two goals late to win 10-7.

Espinar and Harris notched their 10th and eighth multiple-goal game of the season respectively. The pair lead the Cougars with 28 and 30 goals on the season respectively. Azusa Pacific will stay in northern California for games against Hartwick and UC Davis on March 11 in Davis.