SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF - Azusa Pacific men's soccer continued their away series up in the Bay this afternoon against Academy of Art. The Cougars were resilient after going down a man late in the first half and had to play the entire second half with just 10 men. In what was an absolute thriller of a match that went until the very last minute, both teams settled with a 1-1 draw.
How It Happened: The Cougars looked like a team on a mission within the first 10 minutes, dominating possession and forcing Academy of Art into their defensive third. After dropping their last game on Thursday, it showed that the away team wanted to bounce back in the Bay. This play was heavily influenced by Cougar captain, Gregoire Diep. Diep was making all the right passes and continually found space that gave the Urban Knights problems, and after just 15 minutes into the match, it was Diep's free kick that hit the crossbar giving the Cougars the first real chance to score.
A big move for today's lineup was when head coach Dave Blomquist called on Delverone Simpson in the center half of the defense. Simpson looked up for the test in the first half, swarming the Urban Knights attackers and stopping three key attacks.
A turning point in the first half was when Academy of Art finally broke free on a counter attack in the final minutes. It was a one-on-one situation and the Urban Knights forced Azusa Pacific's goalkeeper, Leo Moreno out of the box. Moreno made the veteran approach and did his best to stop the attack, and his tackle was called a foul for denying a clear goal-scoring opportunity and was shown a red card in the 41st minute, leading to an Urban Knight free kick outside the box. Jesse Echeverria responsed with a shot that hit the woodwork and almost nudged the Cougars out in front in the 44th minute, but the half ended 0-0.
Although the Cougars had to play the entire second half with just 10 men, backup keeper Josiah Emerson put in quite the shift saving five shots to keep the Cougars alive. The Cougars play was neat and tidy in the second half and it did not feel like the visiting team was playing at a disadvantage.
The Urban Knights broke the deadlock in the 77th minute when a cross was met with a fine finish to edge the home team in front. But, again the Cougars were resilient and kept pressing for the equalizer. It was in the 82nd minute when the Cougars were given a free kick about 25 yards out and it was up to the free kick specialist, Diep to have a go at goal. Diep's stunner of a free kick was put away in the bottom right corner and the Cougars equalized in the 83rd minute. Both teams tried hard to find a winner and that chance appeared to the Cougars with four minutes left, when Diep found Marco Astorga with a clear chance in front of goal, but the Urban Knights defender had a game saving slide tackle to block the shot. After 90 minutes of play, the Cougars and Urban Knights were level, 1-1.
Up Next: Azusa Pacific will go at it again next Saturday in a crucial PacWest matchup away at Point Loma. That game will kick off at 2:00 PM and if you cannot attend the game, you can watch it HERE.
