Nov. 15, 2007

OLATHE, Kan. - No. 1 Azusa Pacific (Calif.) staved off a would-be comeback from host school No. 17 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.), 3-1 tonight in the second round of the NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship. Behind a crowd of 520, MNU rallied late with a goal by Jose Sibrian, his second of the year.

However, the tandem of Sven Simon and Brandon Stirm was too much for the Pioneers. Simon hit the net twice with his first giving APU a 1-0 lead in the 23^rd minute. His third one, in the 55^th minute, gave Azusa Pacific a 3-0 edge and put the game seemingly out of reach. Stirm, who assisted on Simon's first goal, notched his eighth goal of the year in the 48^th minute to hand the Cougars a 2-0 lead.

APU goaltender James Crawford made four saves in the winning effort.

APU will play on Saturday, Nov. 17 at 7 p.m. against the No. 8 Fresno Pacific (Calif.) / No. 9 Rio Grande (Ohio) winner. MidAmerica Nazarene, the host school of the Championship, finishes its season at 11-7 overall.