The Fresno Pacific men's soccer team defeated Menlo College 6-3 Saturday afternoon in Atherton, CA. Sunbirds Guilherme Machado and Rodrigo Vianna Ferreira both each recorded two goals in the victory.
The Sunbirds fell behind early in the game after Menlo's Carlos Ramirez found the back of the net in the 18th minute for a 1-0 lead.
FPU responded with an equalizing goal in the 20th minute. Midfielder Vitor Machado's cross was deflected by Menlo's goalkeeper and fell to the feet of Vianna Ferreira who converted for his first goal of the afternoon.
Six minutes later Fresno Pacific's Lou Saelee converted a driven shot, finding the far post corner of the Oak's net to give the Sunbirds the 2-1 lead.
FPU scored again in the 29th minute on a corner kick to make it 3-1. A crossing pass by senior Gabriel Ramirez' found the head of Guilherme Machado who nodded it in.
The Oaks answered again in the 35th minute following a poor FPU clearance. Menlo's Cesar Garcia pounced on the opportunity to make it a one-goal-game at 3-2.
Once again, the Sunbirds responded immediately. Vianna Ferreira converted his second goal of the night in the 37th minute, followed by a Paul Islas goal in the 45th minute just before the halftime break. The two goals gave FPU a 5-2 lead and a little breathing room going into the second period of play.
Menlo's Robert Rix reapplied the pressure and opened the second half by scoring in the 54th minute on a direct free kick from 30 yards out to make it 5-3.
FPU's Guilherme Machado made sure the Sunbirds had the last say by scoring the ninth and final goal of the game in the 87th minute, converting a rebounded shot for his second of the afternoon.
“This was the best Menlo team we have ever played,” acknowledged FPU head coach Jaime Ramirez. “They were physical and had some talented players.”
“We were able to find our rhythm offensively and created a ton of chances, but we still have some work to do defensively,” Ramirez added.
The Sunbirds improve to 1-1 on the season as the Oaks fall to 0-3.
