The Cougars fought back and tied the game twice, but ultimately dropped the contest

The Azusa Pacific women’s soccer team put up a fight against UC San Diego, the third ranked team in NCAA Division II, on Saturday night, but lost in a heartbreaker by a score of 3-2. 

The Cougars fought back and tied the game multiple times, but were unable to ever grab the lead. This was the first loss of the season for the Cougars who came into the game with a 2-0 overall record.

The game started quickly as the UCSD Tritons scored on their first opportunity in the fourth minute. The Cougars responded with a goal of their own 19 minutes later. Sophomore midfielder Amy Bishop took advantage of a bad pass deep in Tritons’ territory and set up junior forward Jordan Hill for a beautiful one-timer goal into the bottom left corner. This was Hill’s first goal as a Cougar and Bishop’s first assist of the season.

The game remained tied at 1-1 until after halftime, until UCSD retook the lead in the 66th minute. The Cougars weren’t discouraged, and again fought their way back into the game. It only took APU six minutes to tie the game up for the second time. Freshman forward Bethany Tee also notched her first goal as a Cougar, with a shot set up by junior forward Randi Macadangdang. Tee received the ball at the top of the box and beat the keeper with a strike just out of her reach.

With the game tied, the Cougars allowed a score on a penalty kick in the dying moments of the second half which proved to be the difference maker for UCSD. Goalkeeper Jenna Kovisto was unable to block the shot and UCSD claimed the victory.

“I’m proud of the way the girls responded. We got down 1-0 early against the number three team in the country and they responded, said head coach Brooke Lincoln. “Then we got down in the second half and they responded … that’s for sure something to build on and something I’m proud of.”  

The Cougars will go on the road next week to face Chico State on Thursday, before travelling to San Francisco State for a matchup on Saturday.