AZUSA, Calif. – In front of one of the best crowds in school history, the Azusa Pacific couldn't find the winning formula for the home fans as they fell to Cal State Dominguez Hills 5-1 on Saturday evening.
The Toros kept Azusa Pacific off balance nearly the entire game as they put 10 shots on goal and made the Cougar defense work hard on every opportunity. The physical game saw the referee issue nine total yellow cards and whistle the teams for 36 fouls.
"What could have gone wrong did go wrong," said head coach David Blomquist. "We certainly were not expecting these outcomes to start the season but we are all going to get back to work and come Monday we will start with some changes and adjustments to get things back on track."
The Toros offense was pressuring the Azusa Pacific backlines from the get-go in the opening frame as they took nine total shots; six of which went on frame.
In the fourth minute Mike Diaz took a nice feed from Joey Chica up the middle before burying the ball in the lower corner of the net. Cal State Dominguez Hills (1-1) doubled up their advantage in the 20th minute when Pedro Velasquez did enough to control a loose ball after corner kick. Veasquez corralled the ball and put just enough momentum behind the ball to tuck it inside the left post.
Azusa Pacific got the large opening week crowd excited when Eddie Avardo scored his first Cougar (0-2) goal. The junior controlled a ball off of Daniel Stratton's corner kick in the 43rd minute to cut the Azusa Pacific in half heading into the intermission.
A four-plus minute stretch early in the second half put to rest any chances of an Azusa Pacific comeback in front of 1,171 boisterous fans. The Toro scored three unanswered goals starting with Ehi Isibor's in the 57th minute. Cal State Dominguez Hills then got goals from Jamie Rios and Josh Robinson in the 59th and 61st minutes respectively.
Chase Gentry got the win in front of the net by making two saves.
The Cougars will look to right the ship against UC San Diego on Thursday as they continue their four-game homestand to begin the season at 7:30 p.m. against the Tritons.
