Mustangs take 2-1 win over Owls

Box Score

The Mustangs had to contend with two things this match; the Owls and the heat, and they conquered both.

The Master's University women's soccer team beat Oregon Tech in a  2-1 win at the College of the Canyons Soccer Field in Santa Clarita, Calif. Thursday.

With a game-time temperature of 109, the Mustangs put in a full team effort offensively, defensively, physically and mentally, as the team looked to continue their winning streak to start the season. But they faced a team willing to end their efforts.

"Oregon Tech is a very good team on all fronts," TMU Head Coach Esteban Chavez said following the game. "[Oregon Tech] is athletic, strong and organized on set pieces and they have a deep team with plenty of talent."

The match began with an eight-minute duel in center field before The Master's took command of the situation. A number of shots and corner kicks led to a goal by junior forward Sinclair Francescon 21 minutes into the game, which came from a stretch pass made by freshman midfielder Kegan Brunnermann.

Oregon Tech responded with their own flurry of shots before The Master's controlled the zone yet again. Then, a little less than 36 minutes into the game, freshman forward Breanna Fajardo found herself alone in front of the goalkeeper, finding a gap and doubling the lead for the Mustangs to make it 2-0.

And while Oregon Tech fell to a two-goal deficit, they did not give any room for the Mustangs to continue their offense. They took a number of shots and attempted to keep the zone, but they were stopped by either the defense or junior goalkeeper Autumn Jenson. These defensive efforts put a climactic close to the first half of the game. 

The second half began with more physicality by Oregon Tech, tallying three fouls within the first three minutes. They would even get a breakaway and a chance to score, but they were denied by Jenson.

The Master's came back with their own slew of fouls, which caused the game to become a defensive match in center field. 

Then, midway into the 75-minute mark, a melee in front of The Master's net would cause the ball to awkwardly squeak past Jenson, allowing Oregon Tech to score their first goal and cut the deficit in half.

The final stretch of the match became a physically demanding affair, as the intense heat began taking a toll on the players on both sides. But The Master's would prevail, defending all the way to the final buzzer. 

For the ladies, freshman defender Sasha Redshaw and Francescon both led the team with three shots each, with a team total of 11 shots over Oregon Tech's seven shots. Jenson would make three saves, including a point blank kick directly at her early in the first half. Despite the low amount of saves, her presence prevented the Owls from taking a clean shot at the net.

Coach Chavez commended the effort his team put in, but also saw some areas the team can improve on for the future.

"Performance wise it was a very incomplete game," he said. "Poor second half offensively… and defensively as a whole as we made a lot of mistakes on our build up and were very poor in recovering and transitioning from offense to defense. Lots of bad decisions and mental mistakes… We need to get better on a daily basis in all areas including myself."

The good news is that their mistakes are still producing wins, and they will have a lot of time to fix any issues as the women's soccer team will next play in The Lion's Den at Soka University of America on Saturday, Sept. 14 at 4:30 p.m.