Despite near identical shots taken, The Master’s University women’s soccer team was not able to find the back of the net as Ottawa defeated the Mustangs 2-0 Saturday, Oct. 1 in Surprise, Ariz.

OUAZ barely out shot Master’s 13-12, with both teams getting five shots on goal. But goals in the 15th minute and in the 69th minute proved costly for the Mustangs (2-6-2).

“It’s just something we need to figure out,” said Head Coach Curtis Lewis. “Even after we went down 2-0 we created some really good opportunities. But you’ve got to credit Ottawa for putting the ball in the back of the net. I think we adjusted very well after the first 15 minutes when they dominated us. In the second half it took another 15 minutes to get adjusted. And I told the girls you can’t give a team like this corners because they are very good with corners.”

In total, OUAZ, which received votes for the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Top 25 in the most recent poll, had 12 corners compared to the Mustangs’ seven. But it was more than the 11 players on the field opposing The Master’s in this match, according to Coach Lewis.

“To be fair, the referring was horrible in both games,” he said, referring to Saturday’s match as well the match played Thursday, Sept. 29 against Arizona Christian. “You can’t blame officiating, but in both games in Arizona there were PKs either called or not called that went against us. We just couldn’t catch a break.”

Hannah Burke came off the bench and got off six of Master’s 12 shots. with Brandi Meyer (3), Sinclair Francescon (2) and Hattie Van Bibber (1) getting off the other shots.

“This week we need to work on finishing the quality opportunities we are creating against these quality teams,” Lewis said. “We are almost there, just not quite connecting that final pass. I like this team’s spirit and their grit. It’s not like the beginning of the year when we weren’t creating those opportunities. We are getting those opportunities now.”