Firestorm stops Mustangs

As exhilarating as Thursday's overtime win over twelfth-ranked Vanguard was, Saturday's 3-1 loss to Arizona Christian was equally disappointing.
 
"Credit ACU for finishing their chances," said TMU head coach Jim Rickard.  "They had three goals on four shots on goal, two great strikes and an open header."
 
The loss dropped the Mustangs to 1-1 in GSAC play and 9-3 overall.
 
The Mustangs drew first blood in the game's 17^th minute (16:45) when senior midfielder Jonathan Brown blasted one past Firestorm goalie Luke Holt from the corner of the box for the first goal of his senior season.
 
Just over 10 minutes later, the Firestorm evened the match as Tatsuma Yuki put one past TMU goalie Price Anderson at the 26:48 mark.
 
Neither team found the net the rest of the half.  The Mustangs outshot ACU 6-4 over the opening 45 minutes.
 
They added to their shot advantage in the second half with a 5-3.
 
However, none of those went in while the Firestorm capitalized twice.
 
The first came 2:57 into the second half when Alex Segura scored the go-ahead goal that would prove to be the game-winner.
 
"I felt we made three critical mistakes and they punished us for each one," said Rickard.
 
The third of those gave the Firestorm some insurance.  It came with 19:46 (70:14) left to play when Rhett Livingston gave ACU a two-goal edge.
 
Rickard had already put this one behind him following the loss.
 
"It's critical that we reorganize and get ready for a two-game road trip to NorCal," concluded the 28^th-year mentor.
 
That trip takes place next weekend when the Mustangs play at William Jessup on Thursday and at Menlo on Saturday.