Cougars beat Point Loma 3-1, begin the 2019 season with a 4-0 record

Azusa Pacific men’s soccer team continued their hot start to the 2019 season with a victory over Point Loma in a non-conference matchup on Saturday night by a final score of 3-1.

The Cougars continued to display their strong offensive skills with another three-goal performance. The fifth-ranked Cougars improved their record to 4-0 on the season with the victory.

The Cougars were led by junior midfielder David Kwinn, who scored in his second consecutive match, giving him three goals so far this season. The trio of senior Arturo Astorga, junior James Ndubueze and Kwinn have made a drastic impact in maintaining the Cougars’ strong offensive play.

The first goal of the game for the Cougars came from sophomore midfielder Adrian Preciado, who was fresh off the bench when his strike off of the half volley found the top right corner of the net. This was Preciado’s first-ever goal as a Cougar. APU continued to create chances after the first goal, but the Sea Lions evened the scoreline on a counterattack chance. 

With the score tied at 1-1, Kwinn got behind the defensive line in the second half and delivered a goal, beating the goalkeeper and finding the bottom corner. The Cougars added one more goal for good measure with another volley from senior midfielder Bruno Pagani, capping off a solid win for APU. 

“I don’t think we have reached the mountaintop of what this team can do, but all three goals tonight were fantastic goals,” head coach David Blomquist said.

The Cougars have three more non-conference games before the PacWest schedule starts. Their next matchup will be against Concordia Irvine on Saturday.