Glendale, Ari. -  The Firestorm rattled off three goals in the second half to secure a comeback win in their first conference match of the 2022 season.

Score:   Arizona Christian 3, The Master's 1

Records:  Arizona Christian 5-1-3 | The Master's 2-5-2

Location: ACU Football Field - Glendale, AZ

STAT TRACKER

Washington Alves Jr. - 1 Goal (Game Winner)

Esteban Ardon - 1 Goal

Kaden Grub - 1 Goal

Aiden Abbitt - 1 Assist, 2 SOG

Mario Hanna - 1 Assist

Cody Shrum - 1 Assist

Carlos Gallardo - 3 Saves

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE

The match got off to a slow start, with the first shot from either team not coming until thirteen minutes into play.  Once the Firestorm got going however, they dominated possession time on the offensive end.  While they had multiple shots on goal and opportunities to score, ACU missed out on a few goals in the first half.  Neither team would be able to find the back of the net in the first half.  The Firestorm made the opposing keeper work hard, getting off 8 shots (4 on goal) in the first half alone.  Coming out of the half, the Mustangs were able to take the lead off of a header that snuck by Gallardo.  About 10 minutes into the second half, the Firestorm hit another gear, rattling off three unanswered goals to secure the come from behind victory.  The first of which came from Ardon after a great pass from Shrum into the middle.  The next goal, which would hold up as the game winner, was from a ball played in over the top to Abbitt who quickly got it over to Hanna who passed it into Alves in the middle who rifled it into the back of the net.  And just for insurance, Grub dribbled down what seemed to be the length of the field to get his third goal of the year.  Firestorm open up conference play 1-0.  

Thoughts from Coach Ted Krzywiecki:

"Tonight was a lot of fun and our guys had to work to get a result against a solid team. Masters had a good game plan against us that made us uncomfortable for stretches of the first half. Our guys were able to regroup after going down a goal and play more on the front foot in the second half. I was really happy with some of the quality scoring chances that we created and some positional partnerships that are taking shape. We also had good minutes from guys off the bench. All in all a great way to start conference play. We don't have much time to enjoy this one as we have a very good Westmont team coming to us on Saturday. We know they will be  ready for us and we need to prepare well tomorrow."

Next Match:

Men's soccer will be the second of four home games played by the Firestorm on Saturday, October 1st.  They play the back end of a double header against Westmont College to continue their conference play.  The Warriors are currently receiving votes in the NAIA National Top 25 Coaches Poll, and tonight are playing across town against the OUAZ Spirit.  

Roll Storm!