Oklahoma City, Okla.- The Firestorm capped their two-game road trip with loads of momentum, as four second half goals produced a 5-1 win over Oklahoma City University. Four different players scored for ACU, as midfielder Aiden Abbitt led the way with two goals. With one game left till the conference portion of 2023, the Firestorm are two-for-two when presented with a bounce back opportunity following a loss.

Score:  Arizona Christian 5, Oklahoma City 1
Records:  Arizona Christian 5-2-0 (0-0-0) | Oklahoma City 4-2-1 (0-0-0)
Location: Brian Harvey Field - Oklahoma City, OK

STAT TRACKER

Aiden Abbitt - 2 goals, 3 shots on goal
Tiago Soares - 1 goal, 4 shots on goal
Marlon Arce - 1 goal, 2 shots
Nate Macaluso - 1 goal, 1 shot on goal
Shiloh Perez - 1 assist, 2 shots
Janne Hintze - 1 assist
Carlos Gallardo - 5 saves

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE

Not even two days after falling to #2 Mid-America Christian, the Firestorm brought an extra intensity into this morning's contest with Oklahoma City. Despite this fact, the hosting Stars also came out strong and pestered ACU's back line of defenders and goalkeeper Carlos Gallardo. Four shot attempts, though unsuccessful, opened the door and OCU's Jayson Riley paid off a pass from Jordan Da Costa and gave the Stars an early 1-0 lead.

The Firestorm were quick to give their response, as their offensive push led to two corner kicks from midfielder Jose Garcia. After collecting Garcia's second corner, defender Janne Hintze found Aiden Abbitt and he sent in the equalizing goal, his first of 2023. Neither team could create another scoring play, leaving the match tied 1-1 at halftime.

Picking up where they left off, the Firestorm's Tiago Soares rebounded from one failed shot on goal two minutes into play and registered his first goal of the year in the 51st minute. The unassisted score appeared to release the floodgates, as forward Marlon Arce posted a score of his own less than four minutes later. Arce's third goal in the past four games and fourth of the year inflated the Firestorm's lead to 3-1 only nine minutes into the second period.

In a second period where ACU outshot OCU 15-7, forward Nolan Finch and midfielder Shiloh Perez were next to threaten for the Firestorm, each firing off shots on target. While not in the form of a goal, Perez found his way onto the stats sheet by delivering a ball to forward Nate Macaluso, who added to ACU's total. Macaluso, in his second appearance of 2023, scored less than four minutes after getting subbed into the game.

The OCU Stars tested Gallardo two more times in the remaining minutes, but could not make the reigning GSAC Defender of the Week budge. To put icing on the win, Arce recorded his first assist by setting up Abbitt for his second goal of the game. A 5-1 triumph is sweet indeed.

THOUGHTS FROM COACH TED KRZYWIECKI

"Today was a great bounce back game from our guys," Coach Krzywiecki said. "After a tough match on Thursday we knew we had to be ready to start strong today. Our depth won the game for us today with some big minutes from guys off the bench. It was a total team win with guys sharing the load and contributing to a big second half."

NEXT MATCH

The Firestorm return to ACU Football Field on Wednesday, September 20th to take on in-state foe Benedictine Mesa. ACU's attempt to improve their 4-1 home record begins at 8:00 PM. 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!