RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- Azusa Pacific's 2009 season got off to a rough start Thursday afternoon, as the NAIA's No. 4-ranked Cougars suffered a 1-0 defeat to No. top-ranked defending NAIA champion Lee (Tenn.) University in 110-degree heat Thursday afternoon in Riverside.

Thursday's game between NAIA women's soccer powers was supposed to be the featured matchup of the opening day of the Cougar Classic men's and women's soccer tournaments at Azusa Pacific's Cougar Soccer Complex, but the effects of the smoke from the Morris fire in the Angeles National Forest forced the women's contests to move to California Baptist due to the poor air quality in Azusa. The men's games were played Thursday evening at Biola University in La Mirada.

The Cougars took 5 of the game's first 6 shots, but Lee's Savannah Neely put away the rebound off a saved Christi Christensen strike to give the Lady Flames a 1-0 lead in the 33rd minute. Azusa Pacific finished the game with a 16-9 shots advantage along with 10 corner kicks, but none of those chances produced the equalizer.

Azusa Pacific fired the first 3 shots in the opening 10 minutes of the second half, but after Lee's Marina Lima hit the crossbar in the 57th minute it took another 10 minutes before the Cougars could generate another shot. Senior forward Theresa Broad's only shot on goal, a header in the 77th minute, was cleared off the line by the Lee defense, and senior midfielder Marissa Ranberger's 81st-minute strike hit the post for another close call.

The loss was Azusa Pacific's first shutout defeat since Sept. 15, 2007, when the Cougars dropped a 1-0 decision at Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) College. Lee goalkeeper Leah Wilson made 6 saves to preserve the cleansheet. The 1-0 setback is also the first loss in a season opener since 2001's 1-0 loss at Cal Poly Pomona.

The Cougar Classic is tentatively slated to return to Azusa Saturday, where Azusa Pacific will face a Lindsey Wilson squad that suffered a 3-1 defeat at California Baptist earlier Thursday afternoon. That contest is scheduled for a 3 p.m. kickoff, and it follows the morning matchup at 10:30 a.m. between Lee and No. 8-ranked California Baptist. In between the women's games, the Westmont men will play Simon Fraser (B.C.) at 12:30 p.m., and the day's action concludes with Azusa Pacific's No. 10-ranked men's program hosting Westminster (Utah).