GLENDORA, Calif. – An early third period burst put the Cougars in good position but the solid effort was thwarted.
Loyola Marymount staved off an Azusa Pacific rally for a 7-4 win at the Citrus Aquatic Center on a warm sunny Saturday morning.
With one regular season game left, the Cougars are 14-14 overall and 2-4 in Golden Coast Conference games. Loyola Marymount concludes its regular season with a 16-14 record and a 6-1 mark in league contest. With one week left until postseason play, the #14 Lions are assured of at least second place in the conference.
"I thought we played with good energy today," head coach Julie Snodgrass said. "It was a struggle in the first half but I'm proud of how we battled through adversity and play with passion."
The game had a tough flow to it as Azusa Pacific was called for 11 exclusions and one penalty while the Lions were whistled for seven exclusions.
The visitors were the ones to take advantage of the erratic flow in the opening quarters. Hanna Vilanova scored the only two goals of the first period to give her team the early edge. Loyola Marymount scored the initial goal of the opening period as Morgan Molly scored with 6:34 left until halftime. Hannah Bradley scored on the power play with 3:12 left to put the Cougars on the scoreboard. Vilanova completed her hat trick as she scored with 42 ticks left in the quarter.
Down 4-1 as the third quarter started, the Cougars played a fantastic stretch as they tied the score in less than three minutes. Arianne Yeo had the first net-finder just over a minute after halftime. Gabrielle Martinez pulled Azusa Pacific within one goal less than a minute later after scoring a nice feed from Sarah Adams. Mireia Tutusaus Alcaraz tied the score with 5:02 left in the frame on an extra-person attack.
The score remained 4-4 until Abbey Grosse scored a critical even strength goal with 28 seconds left in the third quarter. The Lions gave themselves a bit of breathing room when Kate Hungerford scored their only power-play goal of the game 39 seconds into the fourth quarter. Vilanova all but put the game away with her fourth goal with just over two minutes left.
Defensively the Cougars played one of their better games. Erica Marquez made several strong saves en route to her 10-block performance. Azusa Pacific was up against it as they played a player down on 11 occasions but allowed just one goal.
Offensively four different players found the back of the cage with Adams assisting on three goals.
Next Saturday the Cougars host Concordia at 11 a.m. to close out the regular season. Prior to the game seniors Marquez and Britt Harris will be recognized.
