Azusa Pacific remains undefeated on the season following a hard-fought 3-0 victory over Cornerstone Cup rivals Biola. With the win, along with the women's soccer 2-1 win, Azusa Pacific moved ahead in the Cornerstone Cup, 25-20.
"Before this game, we knew that it was special for everyone, us and the alumni," said
James Ndubueze, who finished with a brace on the night. "We knew we had to win this game. It was our last home game, and getting the win against Biola to finish it off was great."
Ndubueze found himself on the stat sheet yet again after he got on the end of a through ball from
Arturo Astorga in the 21
st minute. The Cougars continued their offensive onslaught, posting nine shots in the first half, but only went into the half with a 1-0 lead.
The Cougars found the back of the net again in the 64
th minute after
Gregoire Diep was taken down inside the penalty area following some nifty footwork to get by a couple defenders. Ndubueze stepped up to take the penalty and sent the keeper diving to his right while the ball went left for a 2-0 lead.
"Grego (Diep) made a really good play in the box, and I told him that he could take the PK because I normally take them," said Ndubueze, "but he told me to take it instead, so I figured I had to make him proud."
Smelling the blood in the water,
David Kwinn put the exclamation point on the victory when he headed in a sublime cross from
Bruno Pagani in the 73
rd minute to cap the scoring at 3-0.
"I actually think this was our most complete performance so far," said head coach Dave Blomquist. "We moved the ball well throughout the game without some of the lulls where we get a little bit stagnant. Defensively, we were organized and dealt with their free kicks and counters very well."
On the other side of the ball, the Cougars' defense posted their seventh shut out of the season, allowing just five shots with none on goal.
"Everything felt great today," said
Orlando Lozano, "Everyone was connected, the chemistry was really high. I think this was one of the best games that we have played so far."
This was the final home match of the Cougars' regular season, finishing off a five-game homestand. They will finish off PacWest play on the road, visiting Fresno Pacific, Notre Dame de Namur, and Dominican. Currently, Azusa Pacific is the first seed in Super-Region 4, meaning the Cougar Soccer Complex would host the NCAA DII Men's Soccer tournament for the second year in a row.
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