Surprise, Ariz. — OUAZ women's soccer wrapped up its non-conference schedule in dominant fashion on Monday night, defeating Justice University 7-0 at Spirit Field. The victory improves the Spirit to 6-4-3 on the season and extends their strong run of form heading into the final stretch of conference play.
OUAZ controlled the match from start to finish, outshooting the Lions 18-1 while placing 14 shots on goal and earning 20 corner kicks. The Spirit defense was equally impressive, holding Justice without a shot on target en route to another clean sheet.
The Spirit broke through in the 27th minute when Grace Otero scored off an assist from Finley Ali to give OUAZ a 1-0 lead. The offense exploded late in the first half as Georgina Hagger scored in the 41st minute before adding her second goal less than three minutes later on an assist from Otero. Raquel Andrade capped the first-half scoring with her first goal of the season in the final seconds before halftime, sending the Spirit into the break with a commanding 4-0 advantage.
OUAZ continued to pour on the pressure after halftime. Meredith Galus scored her first goal of the season in the 53rd minute off Otero's third assist of the match, pushing the lead to 5-0. Hagger completed her hat trick in the 71st minute with a goal assisted by Vanessa Estrada, and Sophie Munoz scored the first goal of her collegiate career in the 85th minute off another assist from Estrada to cap the night at 7-0.
Hagger led the Spirit attack with three goals on five shots, while Otero recorded a goal and three assists in an outstanding all-around performance. Estrada added two assists, and Ali contributed an assist as seven different Spirit players factored into the scoring.
Defensively, Eerika Erjansalo and Adriana Duarte combined for the shutout. Erjansalo earned the victory before Duarte closed out the final 19 minutes as the Spirit held Justice without a shot on goal.
The win gives OUAZ its sixth victory of the season and continues the team's momentum heading back into Great Southwest Athletic Conference action.
The Spirit will continue their homestand on Thursday, Oct. 15, when they host The Master's in a key GSAC matchup at Spirit Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. as OUAZ looks to continue its climb in the conference standings.
