IRVINE, CA -- The Fresno Pacific women's soccer team dropped a game to Concordia University of Irvine Saturday afternoon 4-1 in a Golden State Athletic Conference contest. Although statistically in the match, the Sunbirds were unable to rebound after falling behind 2-0 in the first half, and conceding a goal in the first minute of the second period.
Fresno Pacific started the game on a promising note, putting the Eagles under pressure during the opening 15 minutes of play creating a handful of shots, crosses, and corners.
CUI withstood FPU’s early flurries and began creating scoring chances of their own. The Eagles finally converted one of those opportunities in the 18th minute off of a goal by Siobhan McMorrow. .
Concordia’s Aubrey Abercrombie doubled the Eagle's lead in the 35th minute during a series of consecutive corner kicks, the third of which Abercrombie nodded in to give CUI the 2-0 lead.
The first half would end with the Sunbirds trailing 2-0.
The Eagles immediatley picked up where they had left off scoring a goal in the first minute of the second half. CUI’s McMorrow netted again in the 46th minute to give Concordia a comfortable 3-0 lead, making FPU’s task an even more uphill battle.
With no other choice, the Sunbirds threw numbers forward in search of an answer. The move finally paid off in the 57th minute when senior Ida Rodriguez slotted a pass to teammate Jessica Pereschica. Pereschica ran onto the ball and then slipped it passed CUI's oncoming keeper Bekah Garvin to make it a 3-1 game, and breath some life back into the Sunbird squad.
Although continuing to press on, that was as close as the FPU would get.
For insurance, McMorrow scored the fourth and final Eagle goal in the 68th minute on a great individual effort to complete her hat trick and secure Concordia’s 4-1 win.
"We had a few let downs today, but can learn from this loss," said FPU head coach Erik Farfan. "We must regroup now and prepare for a very talented Cal Baptist side."
With the loss, Fresno Pacific falls to 7-2 overall (2-1 GSAC) and snaps a Program record seven game winning streak. The Sunbirds next travel to face the #1 team in the country in Cal Baptist (9-0) Saturday, October 10th in Riverside, CA. Kickoff is scheduled for 12pm.