SURPRISE, ARIZ. – The first matchup in 2019 between OUAZ and Westmont did not go the Spirit's way. OUAZ gets its shot at redemption on Thursday, and this time, there is a lot more on the line.

The Spirit will head to Santa Barbara, Calif. to take on the Warriors in the GSAC Tournament semifinal. OUAZ dropped the first matchup 6-0, and allowed three goals in the first 15 minutes.

OUAZ has been preparing for this match intensely since the quarterfinal win on Saturday. Spirit Head coach Skelly Kellar keyed in on the defensive end.

"[Westmont] is a very good team, but I definitely feel like we gave them some free goals, especially inside of ten minutes," Kellar said. "Most of them were preventable. We didn't clear balls out, didn't win headers, we didn't clear second balls. As long as we can control what we can control, we're going to be okay."

While this season's team has plenty of youth, it also has good veteran leadership and experience. Graduate midfielder Sarah Inafuku is a transfer from NCAA Division I, and has played in conference tournaments with similar stakes on the line. She is now getting to experience it at OUAZ, and she said there is not much of a difference between conferences at this time a year.

"It's the same type of energy," Inafuku said. "We lost 6-0 to Westmont, but anything can happen now, you never know."

The message has been same from the players all week long: make sure to come out strong. The Spirit have allowed a goal in the first 15 minutes in four of its last five games.

While they had won two of those four contests, it is not the ideal start. The Spirit are 9-1 when they score the first goal, and it is a trend they hope to continue on Thursday.

"We have to start 110% right from the get-go," freshman midfielder Lola Ruvalcaba said. "We can't wait until the second half or 30 minutes in to think 'oh, let's play now'."

If the Spirit defeat Westmont on Thursday, they will advance to the GSAC Tournament final on Saturday. The kickoff for the championship game will be at 2:30pm.

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.