Now that the Azusa Pacific women’s soccer team has grabbed the program’s first-ever Pacific West Conference championship, the young Cougars look to keep up their strong defense as they head to playoffs.
The 1-0 win on Saturday, Nov. 2 against last season’s PacWest champs, California Baptist, marked the 11th conference championship in program history.
With the win, the Cougars improved their record to 12-1-1 and extended their streak of consecutive shutouts to nine games, a feat that was somewhat unexpected coming into the season after 11 seniors graduated from last year’s team and 16 newcomers were added to the program.
“With all the new players, we’ve really had to try and create the culture that we want here, so we’ve worked hard,” said head coach Jason Surrell. “The seniors have led really well, and it’s a talented group that has really bought into what we’re trying to do.”
One of the talented newcomers who has made an immediate impact is sophomore midfielder Mayra Almazan. As the recently named PacWest Player of the Week, Almazan leads the team in scoring with eight goals in only 12 games played, one of which was the lone goal in Saturday’s PacWest win.
“To come in with 16 new people when everyone was thinking this would be a rebuilding year because we lost 11 seniors and [to] make such a big difference and win a conference championship has been awesome,” Almazan said. “The sophomores, juniors and seniors all do a really good job of bringing the team together.”
According to Surrell, throughout the streak, the Cougars have relied on consistent play from all levels and a dominant defense. They ended the season allowing only six goals, two of which were during Saturday’s game at Point Loma. Those two goals were the only goals the Cougars allowed through the normal flow of offense all year.
“This has got to be one of the best defensive groups I’ve ever had, from the goal keeper, to the back line, to the mid fielders and even to the forwards,” said Surrell.
This season’s defensive success has been led by the consistent play of three senior defenders: Allie Stone, Danielle Ross and Natalie Nick. Stone, the recently named PacWest Defender of the Week, started in 14 of the 15 games this season and had two key stops in Saturday’s conference title clincher. Stone said winning a conference championship in her senior year meant a lot to her.
“We had a lot of seniors last year so the expectations were kind of up in the air when we were coming in,” Stone said. “Being a senior, I knew what I wanted out of the season, but having so many newcomers, you never know what you’re going to get and how we were going to come together. It’s really special knowing that we got it together, even though we’re young and even though people didn’t expect us to.”
Azusa Pacific is currently looking forward to the NCCAA Regionals. After a first-round bye, the Cougars will host a match Thursday, Nov. 21 at the Cougar Soccer Complex against the winner of the Nov. 16 Point Loma vs. Bethesda Christian match.