AZUSA, Calif. – Despite going up early and playing well throughout, Azusa Pacific fell 4-2 in their season opener to Cal State San Bernardino.

The Cougars were able to hold edges in total shots (18-5) and corner kicks (8-3) but couldn't come out on the winning end of the scoreboard.

"I thought this was a game where all the turning points in the contest went in Cal State San Bernardino's favor," said head coach David Blomquist. "We were moving the ball and creating opportunities but it felt like a game that could have gone either way but they did enough to get the win."

Kaleb Armbrust put the Cougars in front when he scored on a breakaway in the 27th minute. The sophomore chipped a shot from about 25 yards out over the goal keeper and after hitting the cross bar, the ball tickled the twine. Carlos Garcia-Partida assisted on the play.

The Coyotes responded when they scored on a corner kick in the 37th minute. Daniel Looker headed home the kick from Eric Lavery on the far post which sent the teams into the halftime break tied at 1-1.

Lavery got into the score action less than six minutes into the second half when he scored on a free kick that bent into the left corner of the goal from 25 yards out. Luca Falcone made the score 3-1 in the 78th minute when he took a nice pass from Debray Hollimon, who made several nice moves to get position, from six yards out.

Any hopes of a late comeback for Azusa Pacific were nullified when Tony Lo scored the final Coyotes goal in the 87th minute.

Keenan Armbrust completed the scoring in the 89th minute with a shot that beat the keeper from just outside the box.

Azusa Pacific needs to recovery quickly as they host Cal State Dominguez Hills on Saturday at 7 p.m.