AZUSA, Calif. -- Azusa Pacific had its trip to the NCAA Super Regional end in the second round with a 3-2 loss to West Texas A&M despite outshooting the Buffs 21-7 on Saturday evening at the Cougar Soccer Complex.

The Cougars finish the 2021 season with a 12-3-2 record, while West Texas advances to the NCAA Super Regional semifinals with a 14-4 record.

"It's a hard loss, but we played a good game," James Ndubueze said. "We put everything on the line, so there's no regrets. This is soccer. You win or lose and all the players played an awesome game."

West Texas A&M scored the first goal of the match when Giancarlo Saldana scored into the lower far side of the net in the 23rd minute. However, the Cougars evened the score just a few minutes later when they got into the box and drew a foul. Gregoire Diep took the penalty kick and scored for his seventh goal this season.

Late in the first half, the Buffs retook the lead on a corner kick. Ben Siri took the kick with his left foot and curled it inside the back post for an unassisted goal to go ahead 2-1. That lead became 3-1 quickly in the second half as Saldana scored his second goal of the match.

Azusa Pacific had its work cut out, but the deficit was cut in half as James Ndubueze scored his seventh goal of the season in the 70th minute to make the score 3-2. Zac Ingalls and Marco Astorga were credited with assists on the goal.

The Cougars dominated possession of the ball and created numerous chances in the final minutes of the match. Starting with David Kwinn's shot from the top of the box that was saved, the Cougars took a total of 12 shots in the final half hour of the match, but Ndubueze's was the only one that found the back of the net. Even in the final minute of the match, Azusa Pacific created two scoring opportunities, but West Texas A&M held on to advance in the bracket.

"It's a tough one," head coach Dave Blomquist said. "The way we play, we can expose ourselves, and they were able to capatilize on it. But, in the last half hour, I was super proud of the guys. Once we scored that second goal, we thought it was coming. The heart and the quality they showed, you can't ask for any more."

Azusa Pacific finishes the year as the PacWest Champions for the third year in a row, becoming just the second team in PacWest history to achieve that accomplishment. In 2017, the Cougars went 6-10-1 overall, but since then, they have been the toughest team to beat in the West Region during the regular season. During the past three seasons, Azusa Pacific recorded a 46-3-3 record in regular season matches.