Irvine, Calif.– Arizona Christian wrapped up its regular season on the road Saturday afternoon, battling hard but ultimately falling 2–0 to Hope International. Despite the loss, the Firestorm earned the second seed in the GSAC Championship tournament.
MATCH INFO
Score: Hope International - 2, Arizona Christian - 0
Records: Hope International - 6-5-7, GSAC 5-4-4 | Arizona Christian - 10-5-3, GSAC 7-4-2
Location: OC Great Park, Irvine, CA
STAT TRACKER
Dustin Rogers - 5 saves, 2 goals allowed
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The Firestorm held the Royals scoreless through more than 70 minutes of play, keeping the match tightly contested behind a resilient defensive effort and key saves from the back line.
- Despite being outshot in total attempts, ACU continued to press for opportunities, recording six shots with two on target while maintaining pressure in the attacking third throughout the second half.
- Hope International finally broke through in the 74th minute on a penalty kick goal before adding another in the 78th to seal the result.
- ACU lost the game, 0-2.
THOUGHTS FROM COACH TED KRZYWIECKI
"Today was a good match. We chose to rest a few guys that were dealing with some knocks and allowed our depth to step up today after a physically demanding game on Thursday night. I was proud of Isaac Blanco, Jean-Claude Olar, Noah Arter, Alex Robinson, and Alex Nicula all giving us a big lift today. I'm thankful we get to extend our time together into the postseason."
NEXT UP
On Friday, the Firestorm will host #3 seed Benedictine Mesa at 12:30pm MST on the ACU Soccer Field in the GSAC Championship tournament.
