A Firestorm penalty kick was the deciding factor for the Saturday afternoon match between The Master's University men's soccer team and Arizona Christian University that ended in a score of 2-0 at Reese Field in Santa Clarita, Calif.
The Mustangs (7-7-2, 7-3-2 GSAC) put up an offensive display with the 29 shots they had over the Firestorm's 13 shots, with 21 of their shots occuring in the second half.
Junior forward Adiel Kaduya led the team with nine shots, as graduate student midfielder Theo Kudlo, freshman midfielder Trent Rickard and junior midfielder Tyler Mora each recorded four shots.
But their second half attack occurred after Arizona Christian was awarded a penalty kick, which put the Firestorm on the board with 20 minutes left in the game.
"When you're the team that, on paper, you're supposed to win, the longer they keep you at zero, the more pressure you feel." Men's Soccer Head Coach Jim Rickard said after the loss. "Credit to Arizona Christian, they had a good plan, but that [penalty kick], it changed the whole game."
And with a second goal flying into the net with five seconds remaining, the Mustangs would lose to Arizona Christian in a 2-0 game.
Despite the loss, Coach Rickard saw his team's effort throughout the whole game.
"I'm still proud of their fight, and their work," Coach Rickard said. "We're kind of a workhorse team and sometimes, what ends up happening with a workhorse team, is that we don't put in those goals to put pressure on them."
But their loss will not hurt their chances of making the GSAC Championship Tournament, as they claimed a playoff berth and remain at the top of the conference standings with two games left in the regular season.
The Master's are now being tailed by their next opponent, Hope International, which sits at second in the conference standings.
Luckily for the Mustangs, they will have the home-field advantage, as they will take on the Royals at Reese Field in Santa Clarita, Calif. on Thursday at 4Â p.m.
