HONOLULU, Hawai'i — Azusa Pacific men's soccer handled its business Monday in a 2-0 conference win over Chaminade. The No. 5 ranked Cougars dominated the pace of play and it's offense put a few chances away in the second half to secure the victory. The Cougars unbeaten streak in PacWest conference play was extended to 25 consecutive matches with the result.

"I thought the team met the challenges of the game very well today," head coach Dave Blomquist said, "We had to move the ball quickly to keep possession and create scoring chances."

How it Happened: The Cougars and Silverswords went back and forth during the first 20 minutes of action as Azusa Pacific tallied a few shots but none were on target while Chaminade forced goalkeeper Leo Moreno to make a save in the 8th minute. It was Moreno's lone save in the first half as the Cougars defense allowed just three total shots in the first half.

The Cougars couldn't find the breathrough in the first 45 minutes despite recording seven shots, threee of which were on target. Perhaps the best chance came from a wonderful individual effort from David Kwinn who's left footed shot from 20 yards out looked like it was destined for the top corner before a fine save was made by Brandon Yasue to keep the game scoreless. Yasue made three saves in each half for the Silverswords.

After the break, Azusa Pacific finally ended the deadlock with a superb individual moment from true freshman Marco Astorga who found space to dribble past a few defenders over midfield before rifling a right-footed shot into the top corner from over 20 yards away. It was a terrific strike that allowed the Cougars attack to breathe a sigh of relief just over eight minutes into the second half.

The Cougars then doubled their lead in the 89th minute from another beautiful right-footed strike from outside the penalty area, this time from senior captain James Ndubueze. It was his third goal of the season which ties him with Gregoire Diep and David Kwinn for the team-lead. Ndubueze's goal was set up by Astorga who played a great through ball for him to run onto before his one-timed shot flew past Yasue from 25 yards out.

"Chaminade was a difficult team to breakdown," Blomquist said, "And it took very good moments for Marco (Astorga) and James (Ndubueze) to score."

That was more than enought for the Cougars defense the rest of the way as they recorded their fifth clean sheet in the first nine games of the season. Led by Orlando Lozano and Joseph Macpherson, each whom played at least 80 minutes in the victory, the defense allowed just six total shots and three on goal. Starting outside backs Zac Ingalls and Jonah Peck each played a big role in the defensive effort as well today.

"Our back four played a very controlled game," Blomquist said, "And made some key defensive plays when they were needed."

Moreno made the biggest save of the game in the 66th minute when the defense showed a little bit of vulnerability inside the box. After a battle for possesion Moreno came off his line to greet a Silversword attacker that won the ball in a dangerous area. Luckily, Moreno's diving "kick save and a beauty" kept Chaminade off the scoreboard.

With the win the Cougars improve to 6-1-2 on the season and 2-0-1 in PacWest showdowns, each of which took place in Hawai'i this past week. 

"This team is still growing and the three games here saw us take a few more steps to become the team we can be this season," Blomquist said.

Astorga was a noticeable bright spot on the trip as he contributed 256 total minutes played out of a possible 290 and started all three matches for the Cougars. Among others, David Medeiros recorded a pair of assists in the three contests while the defense allowed just one goal in three games. 

Up Next: The Cougars will travel to Concordia on Saturday, October 9th to continue their conference schedule. Kickoff is set for 6:00 p.m. between the Eagles and Cougars, follow along with live stats here, or watch online here.