HILO, Hawai'i -- Azusa Pacific wrapped up its three-game Hawai'i road trip with an impressive come-from-behind win at Hawai'i Hilo, overcoming a 2-0 halftime deficit with a four-goal second-half explosion in a 4-2 win over the Vulcans Tuesday evening.

Freshman Gabriel Costa scored twice in the first 18 minutes of the second half to tie the game at 2-2, and he set up sophomore James Ndubueze for the game-winner in the 74th minute. Freshman Gregoire Diep added an 80th-minute insurance goal for the final 4-2 margin.

Azusa Pacific found itself in trouble just 10 minutes into Tuesday evening's visit to Hawai'i Hilo, as the Vulcans scored on a pair of early strikes in the first 10 minutes and held their 2-0 lead through halftime. However, the Cougars broke through for the first time in the second half, and took control of the match.
 
Costa put Azusa Pacific on the board in the 50th minute, rebounding a missed shot and finding the back of the net. He struck again in the 63rd minute, tying the game at 2-2. With his two-goal performance, Costa became the Pacific West Conference's current scoring leader with eight goals on the season.
 
Ten minutes later, Costa was back in the middle of the Cougar attack once again, dribbling past the Hawai'i Hilo defense to find Ndubueze for the finish, which was Ndubueze's fifth goal of the season. Diep scored his second goal of the year in the 80th minute, as he found himself with an open shot from the right side of the box to give Azusa Pacific some insurance with a 4-2 advantage. Eighteen of Azusa Pacific's 23 goals this season have come in the second half.
 
Despite the early lead for Hawai'i Hilo, the Cougars controlled the match for most of the night. Azusa Pacific had 21 shots, including 10 on goal, while Hawai'i Hilo had 12 shots with four of those on goal. Sophomore Brendan Fix was the winning goalkeeper, improving his record to 3-1 on the year. Fix recorded two saves in the winning effort.

With a perfect 3-0 record in the PacWest-opening road trip, Azusa Pacific improves to 6-1-1 on the year with a 3-0 conference record. The Cougars are off to their best start in the program's Division II era, which began when Azusa Pacific joined the PacWest in 2012. It is the best start for the program since 2011, when Azusa Pacific started 7-1.

The Cougars return home for a match against Concordia, which is scheduled as a a non-conference contest on Saturday, September 29 at 2:30 p.m. The game will take place at the Cougar Soccer Complex, on Azusa Pacific University's West Campus.

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