AZUSA, CALIF. - Head Coach Dave Blomquist and his team come out of the PacWest Conference opener victorious. Erasing the losing streak, the Cougars beat the Golden Eagles 1-0 from a converted penalty kick to keep a clean sheet and start conference play on the right foot. 

How It Happened: The Concordia Golden Eagles have struggled to find their form this season and the Cougars pounced on the wounded. From the opening first minute, both teams had a certain energy that was looking to be a competitive match. The Cougars had been dealing with some changes in formation and players playing out of position. Tonight, things went well from the get-go and the Cougars were able to play their way. Keeping the shape in the backline, defenders Fritz Oestreicher and Justin Tinajero were rock solid. Joseph Macphearson played at the six for the Cougars and was able to spray the ball to the corners finding Joshua Lugo, Juancarlos Rodriguez and Jessie Echeverria early. After a few promising attacks, Echeverria was fouled in the box at the 25th minute mark. It was up to the Captain, Gregoire Diep, to convert for his team. After missing a penalty earlier in the season, there was no hesitation from the Cougars #10. Slotting it in at the 26th minute, it got the Cougars the winning goal. 

The Second half featured a lot more attacking play from both ends, forcing goalkeeper Leo Moreno had to be sharp, as he finished with a total of five saves to keep the clean sheet. "The clean sheet is great for me but it's for the team, I give the glory to my team and God" said Moreno. 

By the Numbers: Through the game, Azusa Pacific and Concordia were evenly matched with 11 shots for the Golden Eagles and 12 for the Cougars, each having five shots on goal a piece. Oestreicher and Siegfried each had two shots on goal and with Moreno's five saves, he improves to 33 saves on the season thus far. This win advances Azusa Pacific's record against Concordia to 29-9-3 and 17-3-1 at the Cougar Soccer Complex. 

Up Next: The Cougars continue their PacWest schedule with a road trip to the Bay Area to face Dominican on October 6th and Academy of Art on October 8th.