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Azusa Pacific University Athletics

The Online Home of the Azusa Pacific Cougars
Shuteriqi, Mario5 - MSOC
Brock Jones
4
Winner Azusa Pacific APU (11-4-2, 0-0-1)
1
UC Santa Cruz CRU (5-5-5, 0-0-0)
Winner
Azusa Pacific APU
(11-4-2, 0-0-1)
4
Final
1
UC Santa Cruz CRU
(5-5-5, 0-0-0)
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Azusa Pacific APU 1 3 4
UC Santa Cruz CRU 1 0 1

Game Recap: Men's Soccer |

And a Cherry on Top

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. – Azusa Pacific put a cherry on top of a strong finish to the regular-season by scoring 4 unanswered goals, including 3 in the second half, to knock off UC Santa Cruz, 4-1, Saturday afternoon in "Surf City."

Set against the majestical background of California's central coast, the Cougars put in yeoman-like work to knock off a sound Banana Slug team that was looking to post the program's fourth straight winning season, and it appeared UCSC just might pull it off.

The hosts struck first just over 7 minutes into the game when Soren Groessl found the back of the net to give UC Santa Cruz a quick 1-0 advantage. The Cougars, however, continued to press offensively and broke through late in the first half when Mario Shuteriqi scored in his fourth straight game by converting a penalty kick in the 38th minute, leveling the match at 1-1 heading into halftime.  It was his third successful PK of the season.

APU took control after the break behind a dominant second-half performance. In the 61st minute, senior Leke Ademola put the Cougars ahead for good with his 20th goal of the season. Ademola added another strike nearly 20 minutes later, finishing a setup from Joshua Lugo in the 81st minute to extend the lead to 3-1. Now with 21 goals on the season, Ademola becomes just the fourth Cougar ever to tally 20 goals in the season, and in the program's history only Kwame Apea (24 in 1974) and Andriy Budnyy (22 in 2004) have scored more goals in a season for the Cougars.

APU put the game away in the 87th minute as senior Hamza Adam, who had entered as a substitute just moments earlier, scored his third goal of the year to cap the scoring and secure the 4-1 victory.

APU was efficient in attack, scoring 4  goals on 9  total shots and placing 6 attempts on frame. Ademola led the offensive effort with 2 goals and a game-high 4 shots.

Defensively, the Cougars limited UC Santa Cruz to 8 shots and just 1 on goal. Goalkeeper Alexis Rodriguez played all 90 minutes to earn the win as APU's back line prevented the Banana Slugs from generating sustained pressure after the opening goal.

Azusa Pacific closes the regular-season with a 7-game winning streak, the Cougars' longest since establishing a school-record 18-gamer back in 2019.  Now 11-4-2 on the season, APU heads into postseason play playing its best soccer of the season.  The Cougars host Justice University on Nov. 19 at 4:30 p.m. in the West Region Championship game of the National Christian College Athletic Association Tournament.  The winner will earn the region's automatic bid into the 9-team NCCAA Tournament to be played in Kissimmee, Fla., Nov. 30-Dec. 5.
 
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