Here’s a breakdown of all of APU’s latest athletic action.

With six events lined up last week, the Cougars had another busy week in the sports world. These games worked out for most teams, with five events resulting in wins. Even the loss was a hard-fought match for the APU Cougars, so let us recap everything happening in APU Athletics this week.

 

Men’s soccer

September 15 – L, 2-3 vs Cal Poly Pomona

The men’s soccer team started the week off strong, being named the fifth best team in the country. Though APU did not live up to this title last week as they lost their first game of the season to Cal Poly Pomona. Despite goals from Marco Astorga and David Kwinn, the game ended with a win for the Broncos. The game was also ridden with fouls, including a yellow card for Kwinn. It was not the strongest performance from the Cougars, but hopefully they will soon bounce back. 

September 18 – W, 2-1 vs Cal State San Bernardino

The Cougars returned to form as they hit the road and faced Cal State San Bernardino. An early goal by James Ndubueze put APU in the lead, but a goal by San Bernardino in the second half sent them into overtime. The game got relatively aggressive, including a yellow card for Astorga and 13 fouls committed by San Bernardino. In a golden-goal overtime, Cougar Gregoire Diep ended the game with a goal in the 95th minute, bringing the Cougars to a record of 3-1-1. 

 

Women’s soccer

September 16 – W, 3-1 vs Cal State Dominguez Hills

The Cougars came off of their latest win to face Cal State Dominguez Hills, who struck fast and early. Dominguez Hills scored their first goal in the 17th minute. It would be the first and last time they would score, as they were unable to get another shot at goal for the remainder of the first half. Shortly after Dominguez Hills scored, the Cougars answered with goals from Maddy Morrison, Alondra Toledo and Kayla Grisham. With more shots on target (six) than Dominguez Hills’ team (two) and a quick-touch offense, the Cougars ran away with another win.

September 18 – W, 1-0 vs Cal State Los Angeles

The Cougars brought the momentum from last game into this one with another win against Cal State Los Angeles. While the first half of this game was scoreless, it was dominated by the Cougars. They had seven shots at goal, four of which were on target. Los Angeles, on the other hand, was unable to get a single shot at the goal due to the Cougar defense and ball control. As the second half kicked off, Cougar Ella Romera landed the game’s only goal in the 48th minute, and after a successful half of defense, APU was victorious. Their latest win brings their record to 5-1-0.

 

Women’s volleyball

September 17 – W, 3-1 vs Academy of Art

Coming off a 4-game win streak in the SoCal Freeway Challenge, the Cougars prepared to face the Academy of Art for their first game in the PacWest Conference. ArtU narrowly won the first set with a score of 26-24, indicating to the Cougars that adjustments needed to be made. Aware of what they needed to do, the Cougars showed the audience what they were capable of, winning sets two through four 25-16, 25-17 and 25-18. Cougar Katarina Radisic put up 19 kills, four of which were aces. Kyra Palmbush added some defense with five blocks (a game-high) and an additional ten kills to the scoreboard, helping extend the Cougars’ win streak to five games.

September 18 – W, 3-0 vs Fresno Pacific

The Cougars looked to extend their win streak, which they did in their most recent game against Fresno Pacific. The Cougars provided a clean sweep, winning the first three sets with scores of 25-9, 25-15 and 25-23, respectively. Annaka Jorgenson provided 18 kills, five blocks and 12 digs. She was aided by Radisic (12 kills) and Palmbush (ten kills) on the offensive side. Bailey Genington brought a game-high of 17 digs, while Maggue Nielsen added another game-high of 30 assists. The Cougars are now 7-3 overall with a six game win streak, and are now 2-0 in the PacWest conference.