IRVINE, Calif. – Azusa Pacific fought hard, but could not solve the riddle of the Concordia defense Saturday night, falling to the Golden Eagles by a 1-0 scoreline.

Neither team posed much of a threat in the opening 45 minutes, as both Azusa Pacific and Concordia failed to register a shot on goal during the first half.  The Cougars had five attempts to the Golden Eagles' two, but nothing that made the goalkeepers break a sweat.  That changed after intermission, however.  Concordia's offense came alive, lodging 11 shot attempts, including a rebound off a free kick into the box that proved to be the only score of the game about six minutes into the second half.  

The Cougars were not without their chances in the remaining time.  Steven Alvarenga put an effort on target from the left flank that the Concordia keeper was just able to direct onto the crossbar in the 70th minute.  On the ensuing corner kick, Orlando Valencia-Jimenez's first effort was blocked to the side; Leke Ademola had a header from six yards away denied by the keeper; and the resulting rebound was booted harmlessly over the bar.  It was the best chance the Cougars would have the rest of the evening.

Inside the Box Score:

• Concordia outshot the Cougars for the game, 14-11
• Luis Solis paced the Azusa Pacific offense, registering 4 shot attempts
• Azusa Pacific had 6 corner kicks to Concordia's 2
• Alexis Rodriguez faced 2 shots on goal in the contest, making 1 save
• Eight of the 11 Cougars in the starting lineup played the full 90 minutes
• This was the Cougars' third-straight loss in Irvine, though they still lead the all-time series with the Golden Eagles 29-12-4.

Up Next:  Azusa Pacific (4-6-2, 3-1-1 PacWest) will continue the Southern California stretch of conference play on Wednesday when they head south for a day game at Vanguard.  Kickoff in Costa Mesa is set for 2:30 p.m.