HONOLULU, Hawai'i - The Cougars earned their third straight victory and clean sheet in a 1-0 victory at Hawai'i Pacific on Wednesday evening. Gabriel Oropeza provided all the scoring Azusa Pacific needed in the match and goalkeeper Alexis Rodriguez earned his third win of the season, coming up with three saves in the match. Mario Shuteriqi also earned his third assist of the season.
How it Happened: Azusa Pacific was able to collect five shots on goal with two on frame through the first 30 minutes of the game, but nothing came from the offensive attack up field. The Cougars ended the first half outshooting the Sharks 7-3 as the game was tied 0-0.
One minute into the second half, Azusa Pacific collected a shot by Marco Bermudez followed by a corner kick, then another shot by Shuteriqi but both shots just missed the posts. Hawai'i Pacific found themselves on their final third minutes later with a corner kick opportunity of their own, but the Cougars were able to clear it down field.
When the ball got sent down field, Shuteriqi was able to handle it and send off a pass to Oropeza who's right footed shot just outside the box nailed the top of the crossbar and bounced in for a goal to give the Cougars a 1-0 lead.
In the 80th minute, Hawai'i Pacific found a strong offensive opportunity with a shot going towards the right corner of the net, but Rodriguez came up with a great save to keep the Sharks off the board.
After 90 minutes of play, Azusa Pacific walked away with a 1-0 victory, having not dropped a match to the Sharks since 2016.
By the Numbers: Azusa Pacific outshot the Sharks 14-6 with five on frame compared to Hawai'i Pacific's three. The shutout is now the third straight that Rodriguez has collected, having played 225 minutes without surrendering a goal. Five different Cougars played the full 90 minutes, while head coach Dave Blomquist utilized four players off the bench. Azusa Pacific holds a 10-3-2 all-time record over the Sharks.
Up Next: The Cougars wrap up their road trip against Hawai'i Hilo on Saturday, November 4th at 12:30 p.m. (HST) | 3:30 p.m. (PST). You can live stream the game HERE.
