BELLINGHAM, Wash.—Point Loma struck first but two early second half goals by Azusa Pacific turned the tide into a 2-1 Cougar victory in the first round of the NCAA tournament at Harrington Field in Bellingham.

Azusa Pacific, the No. 4 seed, moves into Saturday’s Second Round game on Saturday against host and No. 1 seed Western Washington at 3 pm.

The Cougars will move into the showdown with the Vikings with a 12-3-4 record. Point Loma, the No. 5 seed, their season ends at 10-4-5.

In the battle between two Pacific West Conference teams, playing each other on the opposite end of the west coast, it was a defensive battle as expected in the early going. APU had a couple of shots early, and then most of the second half was played on the Point Loma offensive end of the field.

The Sea Lions broke through with a goal in the 39^th minutes when Zoe Crockett took a free kick from Grace Nelson off a set piece and headed it into the back of the net. That gave PLNU a 1-0 halftime lead, and a decided margin in the stats with seven shots to two, including 5-1 in shots on goal.

But switch flipped in the second half.

Less than five minutes after intermission. Zoey Kuhn scored the first of her two goals after a steal by Anela Sandoval transitioned into a goal at 49:55. Less than ten minutes later, Kuhn knocked in what would turn out to be the game winner with a shot into the left side of the goal at 57:47.

Point Loma had a few more opportunities but couldn’t convert. The PacWest tournament champs had five shots on goal in the second half and outshot the Cougars for the match, 13-7.

APU goalkeeper Alexia Munoz had five saves in the match.