Mustangs stay on roll with win over upset-minded Arizona Christian

It's cluttered at the top of the GSAC Women's Soccer standings.
 
The Master's University contributed to that Saturday morning/afternoon after Payton Williams scored the winning goal with under four minutes remaining to lift the Mustangs past Arizona Christian 2-1 in Phoenix.
 
"I think any time you go on the road and get a GSAC win, it's important," said TMU head coach Curtis Lewis.  "I thought we struggled connecting passes today.  Their goalkeeper stood on her head.  She made some unbelievable saves."
 
The Mustangs' fifth consecutive victory (5-1 GSAC, 10-3-3 overall) lifted them into a four-way tie at the top of the conference with Ottawa, Westmont, and Vanguard.
 
The top two finishers draw a first-round bye in the GSAC Tournament that begins on November 9.
 
The Mustangs want to be one of those two.
 
Williams kept them in that mix when she scored with 3:15 left to play off an assist from Hannah Bahr.
 
"Off a corner, she snuck up to the space we love to play and she hit a shot," said Lewis, describing Williams' score.  "Kyndel (Borman) did a fantastic job cutting in front of the keeper and Payton gets the game-winner."
 
It was the junior defender's first goal of the season and the second game-winner of her career.
 
The score capped a come-from-behind win for the Mustangs, who outshot the Firestorm by a whopping 30-6 margin, including a 14-2 advantage in shots on goal.
 
One of those two Firestorm shots on goal found the net in the game's 34^th minute (33:36) when Karissa Martinez beat Mustang goalie Lacey Lehman for a 1-0 lead.
 
Lehman was rarely threatened on a day when she collected one save and notched the 10^th win of her senior season.  She now has 24 career wins.
 
After nearly 70 minutes of shot dominance, the Mustangs drew even at the 69:57 mark when senior Kayla Peterson, off an assist from Sydney Robinson, got one by ACU keeper Angie Valdez, who made 12 saves during the match.
 
Peterson's fifth goal of the season came after she had moved up from defender to forward with around 25 minutes left to play.
 
Commenting on Peterson's goal, Lewis said, "She pressed them and created chaos for the other team and got herself a goal.  Huge blessing.  We had to win that game."
 
Less than 17 minutes later, Williams made the Mustangs winners.
 
Two matches remain in the regular season with the first of those at San Diego Christian next Wednesday.
 
The Mustangs conclude the regular season next Saturday when they host Ottawa.