Surprise, Ariz. — OUAZ women's soccer finished the regular season on a high note Thursday evening, defeating La Sierra 3-0 in Great Southwest Athletic Conference action at Spirit Field. The victory improves the Spirit to 8-6-3 overall and 6-5-2 in GSAC play heading into postseason competition.
OUAZ struck quickly and never looked back. Desiree Dutra found the back of the net less than five minutes into the match off an assist from Alee Williams, giving the Spirit an early 1-0 lead. The goal was Dutra's eighth of the season and set the tone for a dominant performance by the home side.
The Spirit carried that advantage into halftime behind a strong defensive effort and several key saves from goalkeeper Eerika Erjansalo. La Sierra generated opportunities throughout the first half, but Erjansalo turned away each challenge to preserve the lead.
OUAZ continued to control play in the second half and doubled its advantage in the 68th minute when Dutra scored her second goal of the match. Meredith Galus picked up the assist as the Spirit extended the lead to 2-0.
The Spirit put the match away late when Williams capped the scoring in the 89th minute for her fifth goal of the season, giving OUAZ a 3-0 victory in the regular-season finale.
Dutra led the offense with two goals, while Williams contributed a goal and an assist. Galus added an assist as the Spirit recorded 11 shots and six shots on goal.
Defensively, OUAZ was outstanding. Erjansalo recorded seven saves and earned the shutout as the Spirit held the Golden Eagles scoreless despite several quality chances. The clean sheet was another strong defensive performance for a team that has found its form down the stretch.
With the win, OUAZ secures the No. 5 seed in the GSAC Tournament and will open postseason play on the road against No. 4 seed Park-Gilbert on Tuesday, Nov. 3. A victory would send the Spirit to the GSAC Tournament Semifinals for a matchup against top-seeded and nationally ranked No. 9 Embry-Riddle.
The Spirit enter postseason play having won six of their last eight matches and will look to carry that momentum into the conference tournament as they pursue a GSAC championship.
