Glendale, Ariz. - In a home game sandwiched between two road trips, the Lady Firestorm downed the visiting Bethesda (CA) Lion Angels 3-2. Forward Justyne Underwood added to her season total, netting her fourth goal while forward Cami Mercado converted two of her own to establish herself as ACU's top scorer with five goals. The victory is the Firestorm's first at home (1-1-1) and increased their win streak to three games. 

Score: Arizona Christian 3, Bethesda (CA) 2
Records:  Arizona Christian 4-1-1 (0-0-0) | Bethesda (CA) 0-4-0 (0-0-0)
Location: ACU Football Field - Glendale, AZ

STAT TRACKER

Cami Mercado - 2 goals, 6 shots
Justyne Underwood - 1 goal, 2 shots on goal
Noemie Antoine - 1 assist
 Alyssa Mercado - 5 shots, 2 on goal
Cadence Peroff - 6 shots, 1 on goal

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE

Coming into today's game, ACU held a 5-1 lead in their all-time series with Bethesda (CA). Their historical dominance (24-9 scoring differential) was validated early, as the Firestorm landed the first blow to the newly renamed Lion Angels at the 7-minute mark. Defender Noemie Antoine pinpointed Underwood on a free kick and Underwood headed the ball in the right end of the goal. ACU attempted four more unsuccessful shots in the proceeding minutes, but maintained pressure on Bethesda (CA).

The Lion Angels utilized most, if not all, of their bench in the opening 15 minutes. Forward Cami Mercado recognized their lack of consistency and overpowered their back line to two unassisted goals in 31 seconds. With just under 24 minutes remaining, ACU's lead had ballooned to 3-0.

Bethesda (CA) settled down following this burst by ACU, with four shots of their own and a corner kick. The effort would come to no avail, opening the door once again for the Firestorm to attack and send three additional shots on target. A serious injury to one of the Lion Angel players put the game on pause for about 25 minutes and signaled the end of the first period.

With a comfortable 3-0 advantage, ACU entered the second half with only three starters and Tayler Wonderly took over for Brenna Sonsini at goalkeeper, as she did for the previous two games. The Firestorm threatened to score early, with four shots and two on target but came up empty in the first 15 minutes. The Lion Angels showed signs of life after dodging these latest bullets, with Leyvi Andrade finding open space down the right third of the field and converting a 12-yard goal. 

ACU showed no indication of stress with their lead trimmed to two, but were unable to manufacture any legitimate scoring opportunities in response. An injury to Bethesda's (CA) goalkeeper Melissa Lopez called up Cheyenne de Los Reyes to take her place, though she normally plays as a forward. Despite this defensive setback, the Lion Angels found daylight for a second time as Estela Sanchez lobbed a ball in for Jessica Orozco and she hit from close range. 

Now 3-2, ACU held their breath momentarily but avoided any other scares in the final two minutes and hung on for their fourth win of the season.

THOUGHTS FROM COACH GINA CORMIER

"I'm very happy with the win today and with the team's success early on this season," Coach Cormier said. "Today's game continues to show we are a competitive group. However, we know that there are many areas to improve upon, including maintaining our intensity level in the second half… We look forward to getting ready for our upcoming road trip."


NEXT MATCH

The Lady Firestorm turn their attention to Oklahoma, as they make the trip for two games prior to the beginning of conference play. Like ACU Men's Soccer, the Lady Firestorm will face Mid-America Christian on September 14th. Kickoff will be at 3:00 PM MST. Follow along with live stats at https://macuathletics.com/sidearmstats/wsoc/summary and watch the live stream at https://sacsportsnetwork.com/macuevangels/?B=600361.  


Roll Storm!