Box Score AZUSA, Calif. - The Point Loma women's soccer team scraped, clawed and battled to earn 1-0 road win over longtime rival Azusa Pacific on Saturday, Sept. 27.
The Sea Lions (3-2-0), and BYU-Hawaii, were the only teams to go 2-0-0 on the opening two weekends of PacWest play and now are tied atop the conference standings. This was the Pacific West Conference opener for Azusa Pacific which now stands 2-5-0 (0-1-0 PacWest) on the season after the loss.
Shelby Murphy is picking up a flare for the dramatic and making Point Loma fans pay extra attention every time she goes to take a corner or free kick as she scored her second straight game-winning goal with a corner kick in the 14th minute. The junior midfielder took the corner kick and placed it brilliantly in the box, through all the APU defenders and off the goalie's hands for the match's lone goal.
It was then the defense that came up with play after play to stonewall the Cougars and preserve the 1-0 shutout. Goal keeper
Ariel Oriarte made seven saves, finishing two short of her career-best. However, just two of those came as real threats as the Sea Lions' defenders continually stymied the Cougars attack and kept them out of the box.
"I am so proud of the efforts, the discipline and the way the whole team stepped up tonight," said Point Loma head coach
Tim Hall. "We stuck to the game plan and were disciplined from beginning to end. The defense was spectacular and
Ariel Oriarte commanded the box all match.
"This was more than just a win; it was a victory for the Point Loma soccer program," Hall added.
Point Loma played just 13 student-athletes in the match.
Easton Kawawaki led the team with three shots, while
Amanda Mitchell came off the bench to record two.
Point Loma is now 5-2-2 against Azusa Pacific in in the past four seasons, including 3-1-1 at APU.
The Point Loma women's soccer team will now prepare for a road trip to Hawaii which will consist of four matches in eight days. The trip will begin on Oct. 4 at Hawaii Hilo and conclude on Saturday, Oct. 11 at Chaminade.
