Men’s Soccer
Freshman forward Kaleb Armbrust scored the third of four Cougar goals in Thursday's 4-3 win over Holy Names.
Photo Credit: Blake Standal
Azusa Pacific got off to a quick start on Thursday night, but almost let it go to the powerful Hawks offense.
Holy Names came into Thursday’s matchup ranked second in the PacWest in goals scored with 24, despite only winning two games on the season. Azusa Pacific got off to a 3-0 head start, with two goals coming from senior midfielder Jeremy Bishop. The third goal of the first half came from freshman Kaleb Armbrust, who got the ball into the upper left corner off a long shot.
“It took us a little bit to get into the game, but once we got our rhythm, we became dangerous,” said head coach David Blomquist.
However, Holy Names didn’t give up easily. In the second half, the team scored two goals within eight minutes of each other, and finally tied the game at three shortly after that.
“It was hard seeing that happen, especially after scoring two goals and seeing us lose the lead from the bench, but we played like that in Hawaii so we are used to playing from behind,” Bishop said.
With just over eight minutes left, junior forward Keyran Kelly scored the game winning goal after he got the assist from Keenan Armbrust. Defender Dane Johnson took the ball forward for Azusa Pacific and passed it to Armbrust. He tapped it over to Kelly, who scored from 15 yards to win the game.
Azusa Pacific will take on Notre Dame de Namur Oct. 18 at 12 p.m.
Women’s Soccer
Junior midfielder Mayra Almazan fed the corner kick to freshman Mallory Walton, in which the defender scored her first career goal.
Photo Credit: Blake Standal
The Cougars came into Thursday’s matchup against Holy Names looking to win three straight games for the first time this season. Azusa Pacific was hoping to have a dominant performance over its PacWest rival because Holy Names had yet to score a goal in the 2014 season.
Azusa Pacific got off to a fast start after freshman defender Mallory Walton scored a goal in the eighth minute off a corner kick from Mayra Almazan. Walton, who was left uncovered in the left corner of the goal, bumped in an easy header from Almazan.
“It was a great ball from Mayra. I barely had to move and was left uncovered, so it was a pretty easy shot for me, I think,” said Walton, who scored her first goal of the season.
Twelve minutes after Walton scored, senior forward Amanda Hardy got a goal of her own, increasing the Cougar lead to two at the half. In the second half of action, with just over seven minutes remaining, Haley Williamson scored her second goal of the season to give the Cougars the 3-0 victory over the Hawks.
“Tonight’s win is a step in the process of continually getting better. We created a lot of chances, but we just didn’t finish them like we’d like to, but overall we moved forward tonight,” head coach Jason Surrell said. “A staple for APU women’s soccer is our defense, and while this wasn’t the lineup we necessarily expected at the start of the year, it is getting the job done.”