AZUSA, Calif. — Azusa Pacific women's soccer opened its season with a dominating win 4-0 win over San Francisco State, Thursday evening. The Cougars' strong showing started with a goal from Randi Macadangdang in the 8th minute before three goals in the second half put the game away. Of the three in the final 45 minutes were firsts for freshmen Kylie Carwitz and Jaci Maze while sophomore Ruby Fernandez tallied her first collegiate goal as well.

How it Happened: The Cougars were quick to attack in the first half recording 10 shots, forcing the San Francisco State goalkeeper to make six saves in the first 20 minutes of the game. Azusa Pacific struck first with Macadangdang's goal that came from a beautiful transition build-up between midfielders Ella Romero and Katie Prado. After being denied by the woodwork before, Macadangdang slotted her first goal of the season into the back of the net to give the Cougars a 1-0 lead.

It was only a matter of time before Azusa Pacific broke through again, this time coming just over five minutes into the second half. After one of the seven corners taken by Azusa Pacific was cleared, Carwitz found herself on the other end of a cross from Amy Bishop, heading in her first goal as a Cougar. 

Azusa Pacific followed it up with another just moments later when a Gator mistake led to Fernandez's perfect strike into the bottom corner to make the score three-nil. 

In the 87th minute, San Francisco State had a corner kick deep in the Cougars' end. But the Cougars defended the corner well, and the ball fell to freshman Rilee Bradbury who threaded a perfect ball over the top of the Gators defense. Fellow freshman, Maze, was able to run in behind, dribble past the keeper, and all the way into the net to put the finishing touches on the home opener. 

By the Numbers: The Cougars' defense held the Gators to just five total shots and kept their first clean sheet of the season, something Azusa Pacific did five times back in 2019. What Azusa Pacific was able to display in tonight's match was the program's most dominant home opener win since 2008 when the Cougars defeated William Penn 8-0 in NAIA competition.

More than 12 Cougars made their Azusa Pacific debut in tonight's game, most notably was starting goalkeeper Bella Hara who logged the first 58 minutes of the shutout victory. Other than Hara, Maze and Carwitz highlighted 10 plus substitutes that were given their first-ever action as a Cougar.

What's Next: Azusa Pacific is set to take on Chico State this Saturday, September 4th to finish its first week of the season. Kick-off is set for 7:00 p.m. at the Cougar Soccer Complex and can be watched live for free here.