FRESNO, Calif. --- Biola worked hard to get itself back in the match after it allowed an early goal to Fresno Pacific. But the pressure the home team applied in the second half was sufficient to hold onto the match and defeat the Eagles 2-0.
The Eagles will have to wait a while longer before earning their first PacWest road win while the Sunbirds pull even in conference play with a record of 2-2.
Much of the Eagles' effort to pull even will not be reflected in the stat sheet, but it took almost all they had to resist the heavy pressure from Fresno Pacific. FPU was able to keep the ball in the Eagles' half for the majority of the match on Saturday and took 25 shots on the evening.
The predominance of shots from Fresno Pacific forced the Eagles to prioritize defense and prevented them from taking their own bevy of shots as a consequence. Biola took a total of eight shots in the match and had a single shot on goal in the second half.
Fresno Pacific opened up the scoring in the 12th minute on an unassisted goal from Jordan Ryfiak. Ryfiak picked up an undirected ball from the Biola defense and fired it inside the lower left post from 22 yards out for the first goal of her collegiate career.
The Eagles mustered three shots in response to the goal, with the best chance coming from Samantha Verduzco on a wide shot in the 33rd minute.
The Sunbirds came out strong in the second half and prevented Biola from taking a shot until 30 minutes into the half. In the meantime, the home team added another goal on a cornerkick set-piece in the 62nd minute.
The Eagles kept pressing for their first score well into the closing minutes of the match. Paula-Marie Labate sent a rocket at keeper Summer Hammond that Hammond caught on the fly in the 76th minute. And the mix of forwards, including
Margaret Guadarrama and
Sarah Jeffries, continued to pursue the ball as it moved across the Sunbirds backline.
But in the end Hammond and the Sunbirds their second shutout of the season.
Biola will return home for its next three matches. The Eagles' next fixture is this coming Wednesday against Hawaii Pacific. The opening whistle is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.
