(SAN DIEGO)
Nikki Ross scored a late winner for PLNU Women's Soccer to lift Point Loma to a 1-0 PacWest victory over Azusa Pacific on Saturday afternoon.
"I give a lot of credit to APU," Head Coach
Kristi Kiely said. "I thought they had a good gameplan, made some adjustments and made it very difficult for us."
After putting consistent pressure on the Cougars' goal in the second half, the Sea Lions finally broke the deadlock with under two minutes to play.
Nicki Friedman lofted a ball to
Bethany Arabe out wide right for the right winger to pull a cross back toward Ross, who took a touch before finishing low past the APU goalkeeper.
"Ross just keeps scoring goals," Kiely said. "I'm really proud of
Nicki Friedman to find that ball to B, who had great composure to look up and gave tremendous service. I thought the goal was well-played."
The winning goal was a just reward for PLNU as the Sea Lions created several chances throughout the match, especially as they pushed for a winner in the second half.
Nicki Friedman worked space for herself with a couple of nifty dribbles and managed to get shots away that just missed.
Alana Diaz shimmied away from her defender and centered a ball to
Mackenzie Kimmel, who was only denied by a stellar save from the APU goalie.
Not long after,
Emma Thrapp slipped
Zoe Crockett through on goal, only for her effort to strike the inside of the left post and bounce out.
Point Loma then finally found the breakthrough in the form of Ross, as that goal proved to be the winner thanks to a massive one-on-one save from goalkeeper
Julia Pinnell.
"They had their fair share of chances and obviously Julia made a huge save for us to keep us in the game," Kiely said. "We hit the post a number of times and had our own opportunities, but at the end of the day we were able to get it in last minute.
"Similar to against Cal Poly Pomona, the team was willing to gut it out a little bit and I appreciate this group for that. Hopefully we can put some of those away earlier next time."
The win improves Point Loma to 5-2-1 overall and 1-1 in PacWest play.
"We felt really good going into the match and I just thought it was a good college game," Kiely said. "It's a lot to stay locked in mentally, physically and emotionally when the game is going back and forth which is what it felt like. For the group to stay locked in in those ways, is something we get to take with us moving forward."
The Sea Lions will now hit the road for four-straight matches, beginning on Saturday at Biola. Kick-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
"It's good to head into what will be a long month, but a month we're really excited about it, with a win for sure," Kiely said. "Wins come in all different ways. You take the ones you have to gut out, you take the ones you dominate, and you can learn from all of them. Who knows what moments will come up in the coming weeks but we'll need to draw from this experience."
