Fullerton, CA- The good news- Freshman Marisa Ortiz scored her 14th goal of the season on Saturday. The bad news- Arizona Christian fell 2-1 at Hope International and now needs help to reach the GSAC playoffs.

The first 15 minutes belonged to the Royals (7-6-2, 2-5-1 GSAC) as they fired off the first five shots culminating in their first goal right at the 15 minute mark.

About six minutes later, Ortiz stepped in front of a failed clearing attempt and buried goal 14 for her on the first ACU shot of the game for the 1-1 tie.

HIU cracked seven more shots before the half was over while ACU made some late noise in the half with shots from Junior Zoe Kalos (high), Freshman Braxton Carhart (blocked), and another Ortiz shot saved just before the half.

Unfortunately, the first shot of the second half found the back of the net as the Royals converted a cross into a goal.  Just six minutes later, HIU tallied their third and final goal of the day.

In between the goals, Freshman Kylie Neafus put a shot on goal requiring a save.

Besides the two goals, the second half played pretty equal as both teams attempted five shots with two on target.  Junior Tasha Coleman delivered two of those shots for the Firestorm (6-8-1, 2-7 GSAC).

With the loss, the Firestorm remain with their six points in the GSAC standings.  The win moved the Royals up to seven points.  ACU has one game remaining which becomes a must win.  HIU has two games remaining and must lose both for the Arizona Christian to reach the GSAC playoffs for the first time ever.

The final regular season game for the Firestorm will come on Saturday at San Diego Christian.  The 1:30 pm game will be played at Cuyamaca College in El Cajon.