SURPRISE, ARIZ. - The OUAZ women's soccer team headed into the half up 2-0 against Oregon Tech on Monday, but the real challenged started in the final 45 minutes.

Keana Barrow's 72' goal happened to be the deciding one, as the Spirit held on to defeat the Owls 3-2 on Monday night. After a tough first half for Oregon Tech, they came out firing and found two goals. The Spirit used the first half goals they got from Sarah Inafuku and Lola Ruvalcaba to cushion them, and Barrow was able to add the important one late.

The win improves OUAZ to 3-0-0 on the season as they finish their season-opening three-game homestand. According to Spirit head coach Skelly Kellar, Monday's victory saw a lot of improvement from their last.

"We started connecting more passes going forward," Kellar said. "We created some good chances, scored some good goals. It's learning how to mesh together, how to play with each other."

Inafuku's goal in the 3' was her third of the season, and the GCU grad transfer is starting to hit her stride offensively. While she leads the team in goals, she is not doing it all by herself.

"As a team, we're really connecting, which is great," Inafuku said. "Obviously I couldn't get those goals without my team giving me those opportunities."

The Spirit must now hit the road as they head up to Oregon for two games on Friday and Sunday. It is the first trip of the season, and it is a chance for the team to come together even more.

"It's a new environment," Inafuku said. "We've been playing with our fans, it's really nice to be at home, but it will be a nice test, especially for the freshmen who have never traveled before. It will be nice to see how we can adjust and keep fighting."

The next time the Spirit will be at home will be September 5 when they take on Embry-Riddle.