La Mirada, Calif. - The Cougars traveled to face their crosstown rival Wednesday night, serving the Eagles a 2-0 loss on their home turf. Goals from Gabriel Oropeza and Kaleb Abara propelled Azusa Pacific to its second conference win.

"Going on the road and getting a win at Biola is always tough," said head coach Dave Blomquist. "And when the team shows the togetherness and effort like they did tonight it is very rewarding. I thought we started the game very bright and we were able to capitalize on two great moments in the box. The second half was up and down the field and the team spirit from everyone propelled us to the victory.

How it Happened: The Cougars got on the board quickly, wasting no time to take the upper hand. After a dangerous opportunity for the Eagles was wasted, Azusa Pacific built up play out of the back. Redshirt sophomore Gavin Chagnon pinged the ball across the field to a wide-open Kaleb Abara who dribbled into the box, passing the ball off to Andrew Gomez. Gomez one-touched it to Gabriel Oropeza, who beat his defender and played it back into an awaiting Abara for a left-footed shot, tucked into the far side of the net to put the Cougars up 1-0. The goal marked Abara's first of his career.

Azusa Pacific kept its foot on the gas, logging three shots in the following eight minutes. In the 20th minute, the Cougars doubled their lead after pressing Biola into a turnover in its defensive half. After picking off the ball, the Cougars strung together a series of passes as the ball found its way into the box. Chagnon cut the ball back and found Luis Solis, who backheeled it into Oropeza. Oropeza took a one-time shot, placing the ball in the same spot his teammate had found just 15 minutes earlier to double Azusa Pacific's lead. 

The Eagles wouldn't easily roll over, as they registered four shots in the remaining 25 minutes of the half, while holding the Cougars to just one, but did not convert. 

The second half was a similar story, as Biola hammered nine shots, forcing Azusa Pacific's Alexis Rodriguez to make six saves in the half, but he was up to the task. Rodriguez made a career-high 10 saves to give the Cougars a clean sheet.

By the Numbers: This was the 67th time the Cougars and Eagles faced each other, the win extending Azusa Pacific to 39 wins over its crosstown rival. With his assist, Solis now leads the team in points (8). Seven different Cougars saw minutes off the bench, and the team took 10 shots while registering 10 saves.

Up Next: Azusa Pacific will host Hawai'i Hilo at the Cougar Soccer Complex on Monday, Oct. 21. Kickoff will be at 5:00 p.m.