Azusa, Calif - Azusa Pacific men's soccer opened the 2022 season with a thrilling 4-3 victory over Westminster on Thursday evening. Seniors, Pedro Nagib Gomes, Joseph Macpherson, Tim Siegfried and Gregoire Diep all found the back of the net over the course of 90 minutes of play. 

How it Happened - The home team struck early when freshman Joshua Lugo set up a ball in front of the net for Gomes who took advantage and gave the Cougars an early 1-0 lead in the fourth minute of play. Azusa Pacific continued to pressure on their half of the pitch when Diep was given a free kick off a foul, and his shot was deflected off the Griffin's goalie where Siegfried was in perfect position to score his first goal in a Cougar uniform to go up 2-0 in the first 17 minutes of play.

The second half started with the same pace as the first for the Cougars. In the 62nd minute, Azusa Pacific crossed a corner kick into the box where Macpherson was able to tap the ball past the Westminster goalkeeper to take a 3-0 advantage. But, in the next 25 minutes, the Griffin's found a rhythm and were able to get two goals past Leo Moreno to narrow the score to 3-2. Although, the Cougars were not finished and in the 89th minute, a free kick led to Siegfried placing a ball perfectly for the PacWest Preseason Player of the Year, Diep to collect the first goal of his senior campaign. Westminster responded in less than one minute to score their third goal of the match, but four goals was enough for the Cougars to close it out by a final score of 4-3.

By the Numbers - 15 different players on head coach Dave Blomquist's squad saw action in the match tonight. Azusa Pacific collected nine shots on goal compared to Westminster's six, and the Cougars had six corner kicks compared to the Griffin's two. Four different seniors found the back of the net in tonight's match, including Diep, who scored the 16th goal of his career. 

Up Next - The Cougars will be on the road next Wednesday, August 31st to face Cal State San Marcos, where In 2021, Azusa Pacific favored the visiting Cougars by a score of 3-0. The Cougars next match at home will be on Friday, September 2nd when they face Westmont for a kick off time set for 7:30 p.m.