Dixie State opened Pacific West Conference play on a sour note as the Trailblazers were shut out at Azusa Pacific, 2-0, Thursday night in Azusa, Calif.

After both teams played a scoreless first half, the Cougars (3-2-1/1-0-0 PacWest) erupted for two quick goals five minutes into the second stanza to bolt out to their two-goal advantage. APU's Victoria Kovatch tallied the game's first goal at the 48:57 mark, and Kelsey Bushman followed with a score just 57 seconds later to provide the winning margin.

DSU (2-4-0/0-1-0 PacWest) was held to just two shots on goal and six total shot attempts for the match, three in each half, while APU racked up 11 shots in the second half to finish with 14 for the game, including seven on frame overall.

"It was a pretty even match in the first half, but in the second half we didn't match the play of APU," DSU Head Coach Kacey Bingham said. "After going down two goals within a minute, we were scrambling. By the time we calmed down and started playing again we were trying to catch the game."

Junior Darian McCloy (Herriman, Utah/Herriman HS) led DSU with three shot attempts, while sophomore Nichole Mertz (Springville, Utah/Springville HS) and senior Megan Spencer (Provo, Utah/Springville HS) accounted for both Trailblazer shots on frame. Senior goalkeeper Angelica Ciucci (Stockholm, Sweden/Thorildsplans Gymnasium) made five saves in a losing effort.

DSU will travel to San Diego for a PacWest match at Point Loma this Saturday at 2 p.m. (PT).