San Marcos, Calif - The Cougars picked up their second win of the season this evening, defeating Cal State San Marcos by a score of 1-0. Juancarlos Rodriguez provided all the scoring there was for the visiting Cougars after finding the back of the net in the 69th minute. "Overall it was a gutty performance and great win in a tough environment" said head coach Dave Blomquist. 

How it Happened - Azusa Pacific created a fast pace for the game starting with the opening whistle. The visiting Cougars first chance came from a shot by Marco Astorga in the 5th minute, forcing the first of five saves from the San Marcos goalie in the first 33 minutes of play. 

After limited chances for Azusa Pacific at the start of the second half, the opportunity arose in the 69th minute of play. Gregoire Diep was awarded a free kick and sent in a cross to a dangerous area inside the box where it was half cleared by San Marcos which set up Rodriguez perfectly. His left-footed volley found the top half of the net for the games only goal and his first in a Cougar uniform. 

"We had good movements on the attacks and quality chances in the first half that didn't work out. The ball came to Juancarlos and he brought it down, and if it's a goal worth winning the game, that was one of them." said Blomquist.

Defensively, Azusa Pacific's backline limited San Marcos to zero shots on goal in the first 45 minutes of play and only one throughout the entire 90 minutes on the pitch today. "It was a solid performance from our back four, but also the work rate of the players infront of them kept San Marcos from getting too many attacks" said Blomquist.

By the Numbers - The visiting Cougars offensive collected six shots on goal all taken by different players. Astorga, Diep, Leo Moreno, Joseph Macpherson, and Fritz Oestreicher played the full 90 minutes of the match and Blomquist utilized six players off the bench. #19 Azusa Pacific improved to 2-0 on the season to improve to 49-6-3 in the team's last 58 contests.

Up Next - Azusa Pacific will return to the Cougar Soccer Complex on Friday, September 2nd to face Westmont with a kick off time set for 7:30 p.m. If you cannot attend the game, you can watch the live stream for free HERE.