SURPRISE, ARIZ. – OUAZ did not have the conference regular season record they were envisioning, but that does not matter now as they are just two wins away from a conference championship.
The Spirit must first get past top-seeded Westmont on Wednesday in an afternoon rewind of a matchup that occurred just 12 days ago. The Spirit dropped a 2-0 decision, and it came down to who took advantage of the limited opportunities.
"We didn't cash in, and they did," OUAZ head coach
Matt Gow said. "The longer that happens throughout the game, the harder it becomes to win it."
Gow does not feel that his team is not far away from an upset win either. As in most sports, the team who executes the smaller details and stays out of trouble will be in the best position to take home the victory, and it may be as simple as doing better in those areas.
"I'm not going into it thinking we have to re-do everything," Gow said. "Let's go do what we did [in the last matchup] and let's be a little more disciplined in the way we do it."
OUAZ heads into the match scoring the most goals in the GSAC.
Cristian Gennaro, who has 14, and
Samuel George, who has 13, led them in the category. The Spirit are the only team that has two double-digit goal scorers.
When the team takes the field on Wednesday, it will be the third straight week they have played on the road. They have a 6-2-1 record in true road games, and historically are a great road team.
"We actually like going on the road," Gow said. "Managing our guys' schedule, bringing a focus around the traveling group. I don't like being away from home, but we like being on the road when we play."
Wednesday's game is scheduled to kickoff at 2:30pm Arizona time. If OUAZ is to win that matchup, they will play in the GSAC championship game scheduled for 2:30pm Arizona time as well.
Live video of the games will be available on the OUAZ Game Central portal and the NAIA Network for $7.95. The NAIA Network is available on Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Android TV devices. Live stats will also be available through Game Central at portal.stretchinternet.com/ottawaaz.
