Azusa Pacific’s men’s soccer team (8-3, 5-1) powered past the Chaminade Silverswords (0-8, 0-4) by a score of 6-1 after a close first half Saturday night. Sophomore forwards Keenan Armbrust and Keyran Kelly scored two goals each as they led the Cougar attack to 29 shots and 13 shots on goal.
The first half was a slow start for the Cougars. The score after the first half was 2-1 and the Cougars only had a four-shot advantage over the Silverswords, leading 11 shots to seven.
But in the second half, the Cougars shut out the Silverswords and only allowed one shot while firing 18 of their own. Cougars head coach Dave Blomquist said that having three games this week makes it tough to stay strong, but his players were back to their top form once the second half started.
“At the end of the game, it was a good performance and we showed some quality in the second half,” Blomquist said. “First half was a little slow getting started, but we kept at it and picked up our pace and intensity as the game wore on. I think that showed in the second half.”
The first goal of the game came from Cougars’ sophomore forward Keenan Armbrust in the 30th minute. Freshman midfielder Colton Lamb crossed it to the left side of the box and Armbrust finished it near post.
Chaminade answered seven minutes later to level the score with a goal from junior midfielder Dayton Sato. He dribbled the ball down the left side and chipped the ball over senior goalkeeper Scott Kinney.
The next two goals came from sophomore forward Keyran Kelly for the Cougars. His first came off a nice cross from freshman midfielder Billy Flores and over freshman goalkeeper Nic Jetter’s head as Kelly sent it into the right side of the net.
Kelly’s second goal came in the second half. Kelly received the pass from senior midfielder Trenton Titus, dribbled down the right side and fired a shot past Jetter for the goal. This was his third goal of the season, his only other being the game-winning shot against Concordia Sept. 14.
Several bench players contributed to the Cougars’ offensive attack. Eight players came off the pine for the Cougars and each of them continued to control the ball and keep the Silverswords from gaining any momentum. Senior midfielder Nick Markham came off the bench and put two shots on goal. One of them flew past the goalkeeper for Markham’s first goal of the year.
“Everybody played well in the second half today; we used a lot of guys,” Blomquist said. “Everybody has quality. They train hard and they get ready to play. On a night like tonight, when you get a lot of guys in there making things happen, it’s great.”
Armbrust scored the team’s sixth goal with four minutes left to play. He now has four goals on the season, tied with senior midfielder Oktay Bulut for the team-high. He is second on the team in overall points.
The only home game remaining for the Cougars is Nov. 2 against the Cal Baptist Lancers (4-3-1, 4-2). Until then, they prepare for five straight games on the road, starting with a matchup against the Lancers on Saturday, Oct. 12.
“We’re pleased with our performance at home. I thought we were moving the ball well for all of the games and even in the loss, I thought we played well, so I’ve been really pleased with the level we’ve been playing at,” Blomquist said. “We have to be able to do the same thing on the road, which is a difficult thing — being away from home and still being able to play as well as you want. [It] will be tough to get victories on the road in conference.”