AZUSA, Calif. – It took until the penultimate minute of the contest, but Azusa Pacific found a way, defeating Cal State San Bernardino by a 1-0 final in its 2025 home opening Wednesday evening inside the Cougar Soccer Complex. Lauren Grissom slotted the shot home for her first goal in an Azusa Pacific uniform after an end-to-end sequence that earned the spot kick.
How It Happened: The visiting Coyotes were on the front foot for most of the first half, though quality scoring chances were few and far between. Goalkeeper Alexia Muniz was only forced to make one save in the opening 45 minutes, aided by a back line that repeatedly worked the offside trap to perfection. In all, the Coyotes were called for an offsides violation five times on the night.
The game began to open up in the second half, with each team taking six shots and earning four corner kicks in the latter 45 minutes. Muniz made the best of her three saves on the night diving to the lower left-hand corner to stop a volley off a corner kick in the 59th minute. Faith Crouse had a good chance in the box deflected wide for another corner. And San Bernardino had their best shot sail just wide with three minutes remaining, with the game looking for all the world like a scoreless draw waiting for the final whistle.
But with a little over 90 seconds left, the ball was headed twice in the Cougar box before falling to Fernanda Medina. The sophomore dribbled twice, then started a series of passes that led to Haley-Scott Recarte getting her foot on the ball in the box. Recarte was tripped attempting to cut back toward the middle, earning the team's first penalty kick of the season. The senior transfer stepped up and tucked a right-footed attempt just under the crossbar in the middle for what proved to be the winning kick.
Inside the Numbers: The Cougars outshot the Coyotes for the evening, 11-9, including 5 shots on goal to 3. Crouse led the team in both categories, with six shot attempts and two on target. The victory snapped a two-game losing streak against Cal State San Bernardino, and gave the Cougars a 9-6 lead in the all-time series. It was the first time the Cougars shut out the Coyotes in Azusa since 1996.
Up Next: Azusa Pacific (1-1) will look to add to its win total Saturday night when it hosts Cal State Dominguez Hills in another nonconference game. Kickoff at the Cougar Soccer Complex is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
