SURPRISE, Ariz. – The final regular season game for Vanguard women's soccer saw the squad take on #23 OUAZ and despite some good moments in the first half, the Lions could not find the back of the net.  The Spirit recorded two first-half goals and nabbed a third in the final 45 to secure the victory and the regular season Golden State Athletic Conference Championship.  The Spirit go to 12-2-2 overall and 5-1-1 in the GSAC, with VU finishing the regular season 7-4-4, 3-3-1.  As a result, VU ends up fifth in the standings and will travel to The Master's for the opening round of the GSAC Tournament next Saturday.
 
What Happened?  The good form from Thursday's game against Arizona Christian was still in the blood of the Blue and Gold, as the team outshot the Spirit 6-5 in the opening half.  Kennedy Cypher had the first shot of the game, even though it was blocked, and Alyssa Fong forced OUAZ goalie Akela Patterson into a save in the 12th minute.  Fong and Jena Howard would also just miss the net over the next 10 minutes with shots, as the Vanguard unit connected well and parried the OUAZ attack effectively for most of the half.
 
That all changed in the 29th minute, as a slick pass led to Karissa Frerichs slipping a shot past Jordin Holmquist-Wilder to put the home side up 1-0.  Cypher would have another shot blocked in the 35th minute but after that, the attempts dried up for VU.  The Spirit doubled their lead thanks to a Jocelyn Smith goal in the 44th minute, which gave the hosts a 2-0 lead entering halftime.  Vanguard had the only corner kick of the half and Holmquist-Wilder made one save.
 
The Spirit were still very energized in the second half and OUAZ outshot the Blue and Gold 6-1 in the frame.  The only VU shot came from Francesca Lindstrom in the 52nd minute, but Patterson was able to make the save.  After that, the contest moved to the midfield and the Vanguard end, with Holmquist-Wilder making five saves.  Unfortunately, the Lions gave up a penalty inside the box in the 75th minute, with Anabella Bara blasting her shot into the twine to put OUAZ up 3-0.
 
OUAZ outshot the Lions 11-7 for the game and 9-2 in shots on goal in the contest.  The home side also had a 3-1 edge in corner kicks after 90 minutes.  Holmquist-Wilder made six stops during the match and Fong, Howard, and Cypher each had two shots. 
 
The GSAC Tournament will begin next Saturday and the Lions will get another crack at TMU starting at 11:00 a.m.  The two squads played an intense 1-0 affair on the VU soccer field that left many on the Vanguard side wanting a rematch.  With that date set, a win would see the Lions return to Glendale and the campus of Arizona Christian on November 9.  The winner of Menlo and ACU will also arrive, with OUAZ taking on the lowest seed and HIU the higher seed on that Thursday.  Full coverage of the tournament can be found here.