FRESNO, Calif. — In a midweek match, Fresno Pacific defeated former PacWest opponent Dominican 1-0 on Wednesday at Ramirez Field. The Sunbirds kept the shutout through a late Penguin's surge, facing four Dominican attacking actions while the score remained 1-0.
The Sunbirds created the first sustained pressure with shots from UC Riverside transfer
Julianna Hernandez, and FPU's lead scorers
Gizelle Aguirre and
Bailey Roberson. As the game progressed, the Penguins were hesitant to push forward, which allowed the 'Birds to hold onto possession for a majority of the half. The Blue and Orange earned a corner and went in front when Brylia Bañuelos scored on a corner kick at 9:11 for a 1-0 lead, marking her first goal of the season. The next stretch featured several attempts to score, including
Royce Kilby's shot on goal at 36:14 that Rylee Buesing saved, but Dominican closed the half with a corner and three shots as the Sunbirds reached halftime ahead 1-0.
The Sunbirds kept the 1-0 scoreline intact in the second half, holding Dominican (CA) scoreless despite four visitor shots from 81:32 to 87:41. Calhoun made a save on Janae Schwan's shot at 83:49, and the Sunbirds earned consecutive corner kicks to keep the Penguins from gaining possession. The half finished scoreless, closing out the Sunbirds' first win of the season!
NEXT UP: Fresno Pacific travels down to SoCal for its first road game. The 'Birds take on Vanguard University on Tuesday, September 15 at 1pm!
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