Phoenix, AZ- Freshman Marisa Ortiz struck again as she scored both goals in a 2-0 win over Johnson & Wales (CO) on Thursday evening.  Ortiz has accounted for the last seven goals scored by Arizona Christian including five in the last two games.

The first 18 minutes of the contest was completely controlled by ACU as they outshot JWU 8-0 in that time frame.  Junior Tasha Coleman hit a free kick just right of the goal for the game's first shot.

Ortiz then took over as she connected on the next three shots (high, high, and in the back of the net).  On the goal, Freshman Kylie Neafus served up a ball from the right side over the top that saw Ortiz use one touch to settle the ball behind the defense and her second touch to find the left side netting.

Junior Zoe Kalos, Coleman, and Ortiz twice all sent shots wide right.  That appeared to wake up the Wildcats (7-5-1) who took the next two shots.  The ACU back line of Senior Dakota Gourgel, Freshmen Sarah Carrell and Tessa Williams, and Coleman tightened from there as they did not allow another shot the rest of the half.

But the Firestorm (4-4-1) used a quick counter turned loose ball collected by Ortiz who made the score 2-0 with a similar shot to her first goal.  For Ortiz, she matched the number on her jersey with her second goal that gave her nine goals on the season.

In the 41st minute, Kalos almost found the net when she swung in a corner that was headed for the goal, deflected by the JWU goalkeeper, and then cleared off the line by a Wildcat defender.

At the break, ACU held the 2-0 advantage and 12-2 shot edge.

The second act was far more balanced for the two teams.  ACU escaped a couple of close chances for JWU including a shot off the crossbar.  Arizona Christian held a slight edge of just 7-5 in the shot column in the final 45 minutes.  When the final whistle blew the Firestorm and Senior Serenity Masterson earned their second shutout of the season.

Director of Soccer Alan Berrios shared these thoughts- "Good hard fought win tonight for the girls.  We have been asking them to pick up the intensity and to work hard off the ball and I felt they did just that. We defended well and created well.  The back line really worked well together.  Carrell, Williams, Gourgel, and Coleman really came up big tonight.  I felt Junior Andrea Ortiz had a solid game and did a great job connecting our lines for us.  Marisa is starting to get into a rhythm.  Overall pleased with our performance.  Now we shift our focus on the number four team in the country in Westmont."

Indeed Arizona Christian will next face Westmont on Saturday as they host the Warriors at the Rose Mofford Sports Complex for an 11:00 am kickoff.