San Rafael, Calif. – Tonight's road match against Dominican University was a test of the character and poise of the Sunbirds, which they passed with flying colors in route to a 2-0 shutout over the Penguins. Goal keeper Brandon Cave played a solid match between the posts to move four shutouts closer to the career record at FPU.
Daniel Spieth ignited the offense with a successful penalty kick, while Gabriel Ramirez later sealed the match as he beat the goalie one on one for the second goal. Valentin Gonzalez was credited with the assist.
The Sunbirds had to make a few adjustments, but did so without panic. In most matches they have been able to control the ball on the ground, which allows them to ping it around to set up scoring opportunities, but tonight was different as the bumpy surface forced some plays to be made in the air.
“We had to play the ball more in the air tonight,” stated head coach Jaime Ramirez. “We tried to play the ball as little as possible in the air but as affective as possible.”
Much credit was given to the Sunbird squad as a whole as coach Ramirez expressed how pleased he was with how the team handled the challenge. “I told the guys that tonight was a test of our character. We stayed poised and continued to play strong, which kept us on track for the win.”
The second half substitutes, which was a plethora of Sunbirds, also played a major role in the outcome of the match. “Our substitutes came in and did a great job throughout the second half,” stated Ramirez. “They brought a level of physicality along with great effort to keep the momentum on our side.”
With the win the Sunbirds were able to stay undefeated in the early goings of their 2008 campaign. They will travel to CSU East Bay on Saturday, September 20th, for their next match. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
