A solid 3-1 win allowed the Cougars to improve to 14-0 on the season as they look towards the final stretch
In a spirited contest for both teams, Azusa Pacific men’s soccer was able to come out on top with a 3-1 win over Chaminade on Saturday. However, the final score was not indicative of the Cougars’ performance in the match, as they had many golden opportunities to score and played a great defensive game.
Coming off of a close overtime win on Monday night against Hawai’i Hilo, the Cougars were better prepared for a tough matchup this weekend, with plenty to improve from that contest.
“I thought we did some good stuff. I think we had a better performance than earlier in the week,” said head coach David Blomquist. “We were more prepared for a complete game today.”
As the first half began, the Cougars wasted no time advancing the ball towards the net. Creating offensive chances using their speed and physicality on the offensive side of the ball, things happened quickly for the Cougars as the Silverswords struggled out of the gate. APU received six corner kicks in the first half, pinning their opponent deep in their own zone.
Sophomore Isaac Bawa opened the scoring in the game with a quick shot in the sixth minute to put the Cougars up 1-0. This would be the only goal of the half, but it was an important one as the Cougars were able to set the tone for the rest of the game. Early starts are important for the Cougars, since a big part of their game is not allowing the opponent to gain any momentum.
Another big aspect of their success is keeping a strong mentality both on the sidelines and on the field.
“We just stayed positive the whole week because everyone has been a little bit sick,” said junior James Ndubueze. “We just played our game and that’s all we needed was to just stay focused.”
In the second half, the Cougars continued to pour it on, as they tallied an additional 20 shots in the second half in comparison to Chaminade’s four shots for the entire game. This half was much like the first in that APU continued to play solid defense destroying any offensive chances the Silverswords began to generate, and creating offensive chances with ease.
Before fans were even settled to start the second half, junior Renan Gomez scored in the 46th minute with a powerful kick from the top of the penalty box. Ndubueze notched his 11th goal of the season in the 53rd minute, putting the Cougars up 3-0. The Silverswords would get one goal back on a penalty kick in the 70th minute but at that point, it was too little too late.
The Cougars ended up winning the game 3-1 and improved to 14-0 on the season, staying undefeated. As they look towards Biola University as their next opponent, the team is not worried about the rivalry but rather just getting the win.
“It’s just another game. We are just looking to improve to 15-0,” said junior Nathanael Linquist.
Both on and off the field, the Cougars maintain a strong family mentality that only improves their play. Everyone on the team is there to lift each other up and have each other’s backs.
“We spend so much time together and most of it is spent not playing games,” said Blomquist. “Through training and even the things we do off the field we really want all parts of the team to grow and be friends and we believe that that will carry over to the games.”
As the season begins to enter its final stretch, the Cougars have remained focused on each game at a time rather than getting caught up in the bigger picture. This has been important for them all season long, since they don’t want to get ahead of themselves, but rather know that if they focus on the task in front of them, that will lead to more success in the long run.