AZUSA, Calif. – Less than 48 hours after playing a physical double overtime game, Azusa Pacific was back at the pitch on Saturday afternoon against nearby rival Cal Poly Pomona.

The Broncos, who were making their first trip to the Cougar Soccer Complex since 2000, came away with a physical 2-1 win.

"Thursday, Saturday games are tough and the turnover is difficult and it was a struggle out there to find the energy to put in a good performance," said head coach Dave Blomquist. "We are going to stay working hard and turn our frustration into determination and keeping me forward. We are a good team that's struggling to get a result right. As we move into conference play we are going to keep fighting and see what we can do."

Much of the first 45 minutes of play was spent in the Cougars (0-3-1) defensive end of the field. Cal Poly Pomona continued to pressure and broke through just before the midway point in the stanza.

In the 21st minute Cal Poly Pomona (3-0-1) scored a great goal which was started just past the midfield stripe. Sergi Monso made a pass to Michael Torres who was streaking down the right side who then feed the ball into the box. Christian Gonzalez-Diaz finished the play as he headed the ball into the back of the cage from six yards out for the only goal of the half.

Keenan Armbrust gave the Cougars a solid chance at tying the game in the opening minutes of the second half but his left footed shot from 20 yards went just wide of the right post. Monso nearly made the score 2-0 minutes later but his half volley shot from 10 yards was saved nicely by Cougar goal keeper Tyler Jaramillo.

The Broncos did get their two goal advantage in the 63rd minute when Justyn Peeples headed home a left side pass from Gonzalez Diaz from in close.

John Lee cut that deficit in half when he hit a beautiful one-touch shot on the right side off a Raul Martinez pass in the 69th minute. Lee's first goal of the season came from 15 yards out and tucked inside the left side of the post just pass the fingertips of diving Bronco goal keeper Fernando Pablo Quevedo.

The tying goal nearly came during the last 10 minutes of action when a Broncos defender nearly deflected the ball into his own net. Unfortunately for the Cougars the crossing attempt was successfully cleared when the ball tipped off the cross bar and out of bounds.

Neither team had an excellent opportunity as the closing minutes ticked away on the scoreboard. A silver lining can be found in the Cougars defense which repeatedly stopped numerous efforts.

"We held strong along the backline. Cal Poly Pomona is a great team and probably had the better of the play throughout the game. We were able to keep coming up with plays defensive except for a couple of them. Besides their two goals, which were well executed crosses and headers, we were on top of our defensive organization."

Azusa Pacific will take an extended break before heading into PacWest play. The next official game for the Cougars is a Sept. 24 contest at league foe Dixie State.