Men’s soccer, now ranked number one in the nation, continued their dominance on their most recent road trip
Azusa Pacific men’s soccer just completed their longest road trip of the season with five games spanning 21 days. The Cougars still haven’t lost a single match this year and are sitting atop the NCAA DII rankings with a stellar 10-0-0 record.
On Saturday, Sept. 28, APU traveled to Washington to take on Seattle Pacific University. Overwhelming offense has been a big part of APU’s success this season; leading up to this match the Cougars had outscored opponents 17-7. The shooting was certainly on-point in the first half, as the Cougars outshot Seattle Pacific 13-2. Although no goals were scored in the first half, APU controlled the game flow and it was only a matter of time before they finally broke through.
In the second half, the Cougars found the back of the net twice with both goals from junior James Ndubueze. Scoring his 6th and 7th goals of the season, he has led the way offensively for this team and against Seattle Pacific he had yet another stellar night.
Those two goals would be enough to seal the win as on the defensive side of the ball, the Cougars stood tall and turned away any chances Seattle Pacific received, notching their second shutout of the season. This trend would continue throughout the road trip.
Following their win against Seattle Pacific, the Cougars faced Academy of Art. The Cougars have never had much trouble against this squad, and Academy of Art has been struggling this season.
Taking control early and never looking back, the Cougars continued their shutout streak and dominated at the net scoring six total goals in a 6-0 blowout. Ndubueze continued his offensive production tallying two more goals in this one.
Continuing on their road trip, the Cougars journeyed to Oakland to take on Holy Names on Oct. 5. Considering how high the expectations have been for this Cougars squad, their offense has been getting a lot of attention, but APU’s defense has been shutting down teams at every turn. There has been no breathing room for opposing offenses.
This match was no different as the Cougars kept Holy Names to just seven shots total with only three of them actually hitting the net. The Cougars didn’t allow a goal in this one, extending their shutout streak to 270 minutes.
Offensively, the Cougars had a hero on their side that did more than enough to get the win for the Cougars and improve their record to 9-0. Junior David Kwinn scored twice in the second half, with both goals coming just four minutes apart. A quick burst of offense from Kwinn was enough to seal a 2-0 win as the Cougars looked ahead to Point Loma.
In their final game of the trip, it was more of the same from the Cougars offense. Getting off to a powerful start in the first half accumulating 10 shots to Point Loma’s two, this lopsided performance on offense resulted in one goal from senior Arturo Astorga in the 17th minute, his fifth of the season.
Going into the second half, Point Loma’s offense began to fight back and give the Cougars a tough time. The Sea Lions took seven shots, but only two made it to the net and APU goalkeeper Nathanael Linquist was there to meet them. Locking down their own net, APU added on to their lead with a goal from freshman Daniel Osei-tutu, his second of the season. The Cougars are glad to be getting contributions from all over their roster, making them so relentlessly dangerous.
The Cougars went on to win 2-0, extending their shutout streak to a total of more than 360 minutes of soccer without allowing a goal. This is the most talented men’s soccer squad that APU has seen in a long time. Ranked number one in the nation, this team is doing some special things on the field and there is certainly a bright future ahead for this group.
Their next game will be a home matchup against the Concordia Eagles who are 5-4 so far this season. Kickoff will be at 3:30 pm on Oct. 19 at Cougar Soccer Complex.