Holy Names University soccer was no match for the Cougars
Women’s Soccer
This afternoon’s soccer match was one that Azusa Pacific’s seven seniors will never forget. With this being senior night for Zoey Bauman, Kelsey Lindor, Stephanie Lossau, Hayley Patterson, Allison Pepper, Katelyn Rogers and Mallory Walton, the Cougars were able to win their final home game against Holy Names University by a score of 3-0.
“I’ve been here for four years, and have dealt with a lot of injuries, so being able to get out there to play and have fun was very important to me. Having the opportunity to score was really cool and a great way to end the season,” senior forward Allison Pepper said.
Heading into halftime with the game still tied at zero, the Cougars’ offense began to put more pressure on the Hawks’ defense which resulted in a goal in the 52nd regulation minute. The goal came from senior forward Stephanie Lossau with the assistance of Pepper. Only 16 minutes later, Pepper scored off of the assistance of forward Rachel Curley, giving the Cougars a 2-0 advantage against the Hawks.
“It was a matter of calming down and remembering to play our game. We knew we had everything we needed to beat them,” senior goalkeeper Zoey Bauman said. “It was a matter of bringing it together as a team and figuring out how to settle down and get the three goals in.”
The game was finalized by freshmen midfielder Kaylee Nicole’s goal in the 86th regulation minute, giving the Cougars a 3-0 lead. Although the Cougars had a rough start to the season, they slowly progressed and proved their talent.
With the season coming to an end, the Cougars are now 8-5-2 overall. Their outstanding progress did not go unrecognized due to the teams dynamic, making a name for themselves in the PacWest conference.
“We didn’t know what to expect this season. Our coach has meant more to our hearts than we would have ever thought,” senior midfielder Kelsey Lindor said. “Among the girls we have the best dynamic; one of our prayers is we draw closer to God and closer to each other.”
With playoffs on the line, the Cougars have one more match up against Dixie State in St. George, Utah on Thursday Nov. 4.
Men’s Soccer
Despite a rough season, the Azusa Pacific Men’s soccer team won big against Holy Names University. The Cougars came out ready to play and left the Hawks in the dust with a score of 6-2.
With the Cougars able to get this win under their belt, it was also a time to celebrate the seniors on the team. Andrew Boyd, Kaleb Armbrust, Javier Chavez, Jesus Arteaga and Zach McCollum were five of the APU team members that were able to enjoy playing their last home game on the Cougar soccer complex as a senior.
“Coming to the realization that is the last time I am going to play here was big deal for me, and it was great to go out with a win,” senior midfielder Zach McCollum said.
Within the 11th regulation minute, junior Callum Wallace scored a goal with the assistance of senior Kaleb Armbrust. The Cougars’ offense kept putting pressure on the Hawks, causing them to break down, and the Cougars’ were able to feed off of their weaknesses, allowing junior Stephen Flora to drive another shot towards the goal.
However, HNU was quick to respond in the 40th and 43rd regulation minute by scoring back-to-back goals.
“Once they scored those goals so quickly that was quite a bummer because that’s how our season has been going for us. That was frustrating but we got it together at halftime and were able to score the rest of those goals,” Armbrust said.
Heading into halftime tied at two all, the Cougars and the Hawks were not going to go down without a fight. Only 30 seconds into the second half, a foul was called on the Hawks allowing the Cougars a chance to score off of a penalty kick. The Cougars were successful and went up 3-2 with the penalty kick scored by Armbrust. The amount of pressure the Cougars’ offense put on the Hawks defense was no match up for them.
Within a short amount of time, the Cougars scored back-to-back-to-back goals giving them a 6-2 lead. The goals were scored by sophomore midfielder Arturo Astorga, Armbrust and Flora.
With only one game remaining, the Cougars are now 6-9-1 in the PacWest Conference.
The next and final game for the Cougars is against Dixie State in Utah on Thursday Nov. 4.