AZUSA, Calif. -- Azusa Pacific used a four-goal second-half outburst to break a scoreless first half in its season-opening 4-2 win over Cal State Dominguez Hills Thursday night at the Cougar Soccer Complex.

Shortly after halftime, junior midfielder Ethan Hopkins scored a pair of goals just minutes apart to give the Cougars a 2-0 edge after battling to the first-half draw. The Toros cut the lead to 2-1 just past the 60-minute mark, but Gabriel Costa and Arturo Astorga scored just over two minutes apart to give Azusa Pacific a commanding 4-1 lead with less than 20 minutes to play.

Callum Wallace assisted each of the Cougars' first three goals, while Costa and Astorga each added an assist to go with scoring a goal. Costa scored his goal on a 25-yard free kick, and he assisted the next score as a series of passes got the ball to Astorga for a volley from eight yards out. Hopkins went to the near post from 12 yards out on a pass from Wallace for his first goal, and he collected the ball from Astorga inside the 6-yard box to score again just two minutes and 14 seconds later.

Cal State Dominguez Hills scored with less than 10 minutes left, cutting the lead to the final 4-2 margin.

Azusa Pacific produced a commanding 22-5 margin in total shots, including an 18-3 edge after halftime. The Cougars also generated nine corner kicks while conceding just one. Goalkeeper Brendan Fix tallied two saves to help seal the win.

The victory was the Cougars' first season-opening win since 2014, when they also defeated Cal State Dominguez Hills at home in the first game of the season. Azusa Pacific visits UC San Diego on Saturday, Sept. 1, and the Cougars are back home on Thursday, Sept. 6, to take on Seattle Pacific.

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