Azusa, Cali.- Life Pacific rattled off three consecutive goals which extinguished any hopes for the Firestorm to pick up a second conference win, as ACU fell 3-2 on Saturday night. Marlon Arce accounted for both Firestorm goals, including the game's opening score, but did not receive enough defensive aid. ACU enters their final two regular-season matches losing five of their last six and in seventh position of the GSAC standings.

Score: Arizona Christian 2, Life Pacific 3
Records: Arizona Christian 6-7-0 (1-4-0) | Life Pacific 2-12-2 (1-5-1)
Location: Cougar Soccer Complex - Azusa, CA

STAT TRACKER

Marlon Arce - 2 goals, 5 shots on goal
Jose Garcia - 1 assist, 2 shots on goal
Kaden Grub - 2 shots on goal
Jake Underwood - 2 shots on goal
Aiden Abbitt - 2 shots
Carlos Gallardo - 2 saves

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE

Marlon Arce fired off the game's first shot and shot on goal before 90 seconds could elapse, wasting no time challenging Life Pacific goalkeeper Ezequiel Jimenez. The home Warriors threatened early as well, Benjamin Montes De Oca testing if Carlos Gallardo's gloves were warm in the fifth minute. It would be ACU that struck first, Jose Garcia setting up Arce for a goal in the 19th minute on his and the team's second shot on target.

Kaden Grub delivered his own ball into Life Pacific's box a few possessions later, but Jimenez held firm. Before the 31st minute could expire, the Warriors' Montes De Oca would not be denied a second time, as he paid off a pass from teammate Marco Mendoza to knot things up at 1 apiece. In the waning minutes of the first period, Garcia unloaded another on-target shot for the Firestorm before Juan Rodriguez redirected the game's flow and found Ramiro Piza for the go-ahead goal with only 41 seconds remaining in the opening half.

Montes De Oca tried to maintain Life Pacific's momentum right out of the gates in the second half, but Gallardo had other plans. Over the next 15 minutes of play, ACU controlled the ball on the opposition's half of the field but could not reap a score on five shots (two on goal) and two corner kicks. Following a yellow card on Gallardo in the 65th minute, Montes De Oca was successful on his penalty kick effort to increase the Warriors' lead to 3-1.

This score would be Life Pacific's final shot in the match, whereas ACU took seven more in the closing 25 minutes. With shot attempts from players including Garcia, Janne Hintze and Kaden Grub, the Firestorm pressured the Warriors but to no avail. However, the door remained open when Arce nailed a penalty kick following a yellow card awarded to Nikolas Ayala of Life Pacific in the 83rd minute. 

Jake Underwood got off one more good chance for ACU, with an on-target header two minutes later, but Jimenez did not blink. Despite outshooting the Warriors 17-5, ACU came up on the losing end of a 3-2 match.

NEXT MATCH

The Firestorm return to ACU Football Field on October 26th for a showdown with Vanguard at 5:45 PM. They look to begin their final week of the regular season strong on what is also Faculty and Staff Appreciation Night. Follow the action with live stats at https://acufirestorm.com/sidearmstats/msoc/summary and watch the game at https://www.gsacsportsnetwork.com/azchristian/. 


Roll Storm!