AZUSA, Calif. – Fresh off of a 4-0 victory at Cal State Dominguez Hills, Azusa Pacific looked to continue the early-season success at home against the Cougars of Cal State San Marcos. Azusa Pacific again showed that they can score from just about anywhere, finding the back of the net twice from set pieces to down Cal State San Marcos 2-1.

Azusa Pacific found a foothold in the match early, possessing the ball through some pressure from San Marcos and creating chances on the offensive end of the field. Arturo Astorga found the back of the net first for Azusa Pacific, cleaning up a corner kick in the 26^th minute.

"I was standing near the keeper and saw the ball get whipped in, past the keeper and off the post, luckily it fell right at my feet and I tapped it in," said Astorga.

The Azusa Pacific defense held Cal State San Marcos to zero shots on goal in the first half, and the partnership between Isaac Bawa and Orlando Lozano was a key to that success.

"It gives us a lot of confidence, because we do want to keep attacking, but to do that you have to be strong at the back," said Head Coach Dave Blomquist. "With Isaac on the backline we have a lot of confidence, Nathaniel (Linquist) did great in goal, and Orlando is coming along really nice for his first year here."

Cal State San Marcos continued their pressure and started to find a couple holes in the midfield, and ultimately the backline, of Azusa Pacific. John Williamson leveled up the match at 1-1 in the 67^th minute after receiving an incisive through ball and slotting it past the charging Linquist. 

However, Azusa Pacific bounced back right away, scoring on a wonderfully taken free-kick from Renan Gomes in the 70^th minute.

"I talked to Grego (Diep) after the first free-kick and asked if I could take the next one, and he encouraged me to take it," said Gomes. "After I took my three or four steps back, I noticed that the keeper couldn't see the ball from behind his wall, so I figured if I flip this ball over the wall it is going to be a goal."

With the win, Azusa Pacific moves to 2-0 on the season. They will face Cal Poly Pomona on Thursday, September 12 at 7:30 pm at the Cougar Soccer Complex in a rematch of the 2018 NCAA DII West Region Final.

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