Glendale, Ari.- In their second to last home stand of the year, the Firestorm look to jump ahead in conference standings with a win over Vanguard.
Match Details
Arizona Christian versus Vanguard
Played at ACU Football Field in Glendale, Arizona.
Thursday, October 13th
Women's Match Kickoff at 5:45 PM
Men's Match Kickoff at 8 PM
Live Coverage
Video - https://www.gsacsportsnetwork.com/azchristian/
Women's Live Stats - http://www.gsacstats.org/sports/wsoc/2022-23/boxscores/20221013_wlmb.xml
Men's Live Stats - http://www.gsacstats.org/sports/msoc/2022-23/boxscores/20221013_idwq.xml
Series Notes
The women's soccer team is still on the hunt for their first win over the Lions. The only Firestorm player to score a goal against Vanguard is current forward Cami Mercado. In last year's match, Mercado was set up nicely by Brooke Schuster off of a free kick for a header that would tie that match, although Vanguard was able to pull ahead and secure a victory.
Men's soccer is looking to get back into the win column against the Lions, with their most recent victory coming in November of 2018. That win, of course, was to claim the GSAC Championship by a final score of 3-2. At that time Vanguard was ranked #9 in the country and that win allowed the men's soccer team to advance to the NAIA National Tournament.
Arizona Christian
Women's soccer has played hard in recent games, but dropped a match to #12 Westmont at home. While playing at home this season, the Firestorm have accumulated one win and two ties, scoring 7 goals at ACU Football Field compared to just 6 goals when playing on the road. All 13 Firestorm goals this season have come courtesy of just three players (Mercado, Castro, Cruz). Sanchez, the ACU Women's keeper, has the 2nd most saves out of anybody in the GSAC.
Men's soccer still remains unbeaten in conference play after last weekend's victory over Life Pacific and tie with Hope International. The Firestorm are also unbeaten when playing at home this year following a tie over (RV) Westmont and a 3-1 victory over The Master's. ACU has an offensive arsenal at their disposal, with 13 different players having scored a goal this season. The Firestorm are out-scoring their opponents 6-3 and are averaging over 11 shots per game just in conference competitions.
ACU Key Players
Women's Soccer
Men's Soccer
Vanguard
The women's soccer team currently sits at the top of the conference standings with a perfect 3-0 record. Their most recent victories coming over Menlo and William Jessup last weekend with a score of 1-0 in both matches. When playing on the road this season, the Lions are barely out-scoring their opponents 4-3, which bodes well for the Firestorm.
Men's soccer ranks just behind the Firestorm in the GSAC standings. The Lions are 2-0-1 in conference play following a tie with Menlo and a 1-0 win over William Jessup. Vanguard's only loss this season came while playing at home, but they score less on the road. The Lion's defense will definitely play a factor as they have recorded three shutouts already this season. In their most recent shutout victory over William Jessup, the Warriors were only able to get off 7 shots as a team. ACU will look to create scoring opportunities early and often.
Roll Storm!
