San Rafael, CALIF. – Dominican University of California men's soccer (8-3-0, 4-0-0) rewrote the record books on Thursday, beating Azusa Pacific (3-6-1, 1-1-0) for the first time ever in program history, doing so in emphatic fashion.
 
Sophomore Lex Bernier made a remarkable play when he sent the ball through a defender's legs in the seventh minute, leaving the Cougar mightily confused as Bernier strutted past him and towards the goal. A juke towards the center of the box gave Bernier the time and space he needed before sending a scorcher towards the Azusa Pacific frame, narrowly missing as the top of the woodwork found itself in the jet stream of the Bernier rocket. Graduate student Dominic Galletti joined the party moments later with a shot that was saved by the keeper in the center of the frame before sending another test towards the Cougars' goal just six minutes later, but Azusa Pacific keeper Leo Moreno was again up to the task.
 
Penguins' senior keeper Alejandro Reyes had what may have been his best day as a Dominican keeper, earning perhaps his most remarkable collection of saves when he first stymied Cougars' forward Joshua Lugo from inside the box. Seconds later, Azusa Pacific's Marco Astorgo collected the rebound from the Lugo strike and sent a shot towards a wide-open bottom right corner of the frame, but Reyes left the attacker dazed and confused as he got parallel with the turf, making a fingertip save to keep the game even at zero, a score that held until halftime.
 
The game's first goal came in the opening minutes of the second half when senior Maxwell Ward sent a corner kick into the box, kick starting a mad scramble. Junior Jesus Duran was the eventual recipient of the lob, making no mistake as he nestled the ball into the back of the net to give Dominican a 1-0 advantage.
 
Azusa Pacific made the road to redemption a tough climb in the 66^th minute by earning a red card after kicking the ball away from the action after the whistle, a move that Dominican was flagged on a few minutes prior. The perpetrator had already received a yellow card earlier in the half, meaning he would have plenty of time to think about his actions as he was sent off with just shy of 25 minutes remaining in the game, leaving his team a man down.
 
Dominican capitalized on the opportunity less than 10 minutes later when Ward sent another corner kick into the box, finding the foot of freshly subbed senior Elias Muro who redirected the ball to sophomore Brandon Selway. Like Duran earlier, Selway tallied a goal after a mini scramble, his first as a Penguin as he added much needed insurance for Dominican, and the eventual game-winner. 
 
The Cougars battled back in the 84^th minute when Astorga found himself on a partial breakaway near the attacking third, sending a chip over a sprawled Reyes to cut the lead in half. This would be as close as the Cougars came, however, as Dominican waltzed off the field to the ever-sweet melody of a 2-1 victory over Azusa Pacific, a tune that had never been heard in program history prior. 
 
The stats on paper provided an accurate depiction of the game's storyline as Dominican earned heavy favor in many major statistical categories. Dominican out shot the Cougars by a 22-12 margin, finding the target three more times than Azusa Pacific. A tally of nine Dominican corner kicks towered over the five that Azusa Pacific earned, proving effective as both the Penguins goals came off the opportunities from the corners of the pitch.
 
Duran earned a team-high four shots on the afternoon, with Selway tallying a trio of his own. Bernier was dominant in his 71 minutes of action, setting the tone for many plays while narrowly missing on a pair of opportunities. Senior defender Louie Galdamez was one of four Dominican starters to play all 90 minutes, joined by graduate student Brian Sanchez, Ward and Selway.