Glendale, Ariz.- Leading for 69 minutes of the match, Arizona Christian could not hold off OUAZ in the final two minutes as the teams played to a tie on Halloween night. Aiden Abbitt, playing in his final home match, scored and assisted on the two ACU goals.
MATCH INFO
Score: Arizona Christian - 2, OUAZ - 2
Records: Arizona Christian - 6-7-4, 4-5-4 GSAC | OUAZ - 6-5-6, 3-5-5 GSAC
Location: ACU Football Field, Arizona Christian University, Glendale, AZ
STAT TRACKER
Abbitt - goal, assist
Marlon Arce - goal
Emiliano Vega - 5 saves
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- OUAZ cracked the first two shots of the match before ACU took the next four
- Shot five for ACU resulted in Abbitt connecting with Arce for the first goal of the game and Arce's fifth of the season
- Eleven minutes later, Abbitt cashed in a penalty kick to push ACU ahead 2-0
- The Spirit closed out the half with the final five shots including their first goal
- At the break both teams had attempted eight shots
- Both goalkeepers made a few acrobatic saves in the second half to keep the score at 2-1
- Unfortunately with less than two minutes to go, the Spirit found the equalizer on a rebounded free kick knocked home
- The tie complicates the postseason picture for the Firestorm as they must win on Saturday in the regular season finale and get some help
THOUGHTS FROM COACH TED KRZYWIEKCI
"I was really happy with how hard our guys played the entire game. We defended as a group and had some great sequences of attacks. We did not want to sit on the lead and knew OUAZ was going to make a push. It is definitely unfortunate not to come away with three points. We know we are still in the hunt and we have to come out and give everything we have on Saturday."
NEXT UP
On Saturday, the Firestorm will play at Desert Sky Park against Park-Gilbert. Match time is scheduled for 8:00 pm.
