La Sierra University

GLENDALE, Ariz. - Bianca Ahumada broke a scoreless tie in the 82nd minute, and Sophia Diaz completed a five-save shutout as La Sierra earned a 1-0 conference victory over Arizona Christian on Sept. 17 at ACU Soccer Field. Ahumadascored her third goal of the season at 81:53, finishing a pass from Samantha Torres to give the Golden Eagles a well-earned breakthrough.

La Sierra applied pressure throughout the match, putting seven of its eight first-half shots on goal. Brianna Lee delivered the Golden Eagles' first attempt on target in the sixth minute, while Tamara Gastelum forced a save at 15:48 before Lee tested Arizona Christian goalkeeper Tayler Wonderly again eight seconds later. Wonderly's work kept the match scoreless despite La Sierra's steady attack.

Diaz matched that effort at the other end. The Golden Eagles' goalkeeper stopped an Arizona Christian attempt at 10:37 for the first of three opening-half saves, then denied another shot at 44:04 to preserve the 0-0 score entering halftime. Diaz added two saves after the break and anchored a disciplined La Sierra defense that allowed only five shots on goal.

The Golden Eagles continued pushing in the second half. Kylie Wilbanks put an effort on frame at 65:31, and Ahumada began the decisive sequence shortly after returning to the match. She forced Wonderly into a save at 79:18. La Sierra earned a corner kick 23 seconds later, and Ahumada converted from a Torres assist just over two minutes after her earlier chance.

La Sierra finished with advantages of 18-15 in total shots, 12-5 in shots on goal and 5-2 in corner kicks. Ahumada put all three of her shots on target, while Danae Burroughs had 3 shots on goal and took four corner kicks. Lee led the Golden Eagles with five shots, and Gastelum added three attempts as La Sierra consistently challenged Wonderly, who made 11 saves.

The victory lifted La Sierra to 4-4 overall and 1-3 in conference play, while Arizona Christian moved to 1-3-1 and 0-2-1 in the conference. Diaz supplied the final defensive highlight in the 90^th minute, turning away Arizona Christian's last shot on goal to secure the shutout and the Golden Eagles' one-goal celebration.

The Lady Golden Eagles come back home for their next match to take on Soka America on Tuesday September 22^nd at 5:00 PM.