Despite the conditions, the Wildcats controlled much of the tempo during the first half which featured IWU taking a 1-0 lead in the 22nd minute of play.

Indiana Wesleyan continued to pressure the Azusa Pacific goal in an attempt to pad their one goal lead. IWU earned a pair of corner kicks which one resulted in a shot narrowly missing the far post. But after an Indiana Wesleyan scoring opportunity, Azusa Pacific quickly countered and advanced the ball down the field and a beautifully placed shot beat IWU freshman goalkeeper Beth Anne Nowak for the match tying goal in the 30th minute.

The Cougars slowly took momentum in the final portions of the opening half and created more scoring chances, but the Wildcats rebuked each opportunity as the teams headed into halftime tied 1-1. The Cougars held a 7-5 advantage in shots in the first 45 minutes.

Following a high-octane, very intense first half, the two teams settled down into a more defensive contest in the second half. Play was more focused between the 18-yard boxes and the two teams combined for just five shots.

But of the two shots by Azusa Pacific, one was the eventual game-winning goal in the 70th minute.

Despite trailing for the first time in the match, Indiana Wesleyan continued to lock horns with Azusa Pacific to the very end. IWU threatened on numerous occasions in the final 20 minutes to tie the match. The best chance came with five minutes remaining when a ball was played into the Azusa Pacific box. The ball rolled across the face of the net, but the three Wildcats in place to strike missed as the ball was cleared away.

Azusa Pacific salted the match away by continuous dumps of the ball deep into Indiana Wesleyan territory to claim the 2-1 victory.

The Wildcat defense was stellar in the contest as it held the potent Cougar offensive attack in check. In the NAIA National Championship Opening Round match, APU set a new tournament record with 46 shots in a single match. In today's match, the Cougars managed only nine shots while the Wildcats had eight.

Azusa Pacific will advance to the NAIA National Championship Quarterfinals and will meet the winner of No. 5-seed William Carey (Miss.) University and No. 12-seed Graceland (Iowa) University on Wednesday. APU is now 16-3-1 on the season.

The fine Indiana Wesleyan season comes to a close with an 18-3-1 record. IWU won just their second ever NAIA National Tournament contest and matched the farthest any Indiana Wesleyan team has advanced in women's soccer program history.

Indiana Wesleyan won their 12th Mid-Central College Conference regular season championship in the past 14 years. IWU won their second consecutive MCC Tournament title and advanced to the NAIA National Championship Tournament for the second straight season.