Riverside, Calif. – Arizona Christian battled through a defensive showdown on the road Thursday night, breaking through late to secure a hard-fought 1-0 victory over La Sierra.


MATCH INFO
Score: Arizona Christian - 1, La Sierra - 0
Records:  Arizona Christian - 4-2-2, GSAC 1-1-1 | La Sierra - 5-2-1, GSAC 3-2-0
Location: Riverside, CA


STAT TRACKER
Alexander Menolascina - 1 goal
Marcos Mora - 1 assist
Emiliano Vega - 7 saves, 0 goals allowed 


INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• After a scoreless first half, the Firestorm continued to push the pace but were denied several chances by the Golden Eagles' back line. 
• The breakthrough finally came in the 76th minute when Alexander Menolascina delivered the decisive strike, finishing off a setup from Marcos Mora to put ACU in front.
• From there, Arizona Christian's defense stood tall. 
• Goalkeeper Emiliano Vega and the Firestorm back line kept La Sierra off the board, weathering late pressure to lock down the clean sheet.
• ACU won the game, 1-0. 

THOUGHTS FROM COACH TED KRZYWIECKI
"Our guys competed and earned a result in tough conditions tonight. It was all about desire. The intensity and determination that our guys competed with tonight was fun to watch. It was great to see Alexander Menolascina get his first collegiate goal in a critical moment. I could go down the list of so many guys with how well they competed and defended in key moments Getting road wins in California is always difficult. Definitely have some building blocks as we move into the meat of our conference schedule."


NEXT UP
On Saturday, the Firestorm will head home and play against OUAZ on the ACU Soccer Field at 11:30 am.