Box Score

Fresno Pacific struggled defensively on Wednesday, falling 4-0 at #21 Azusa Pacific. It was the third straight loss for the Sunbirds, who now sit at 5-4 in the conference.

The teams both finished with 11 shots, but the Sunbirds caught some bad breaks and the Cougars got a solid effort from goalie Joe Geletko who finished with seven saves. FPU had more shots on goal, 7 to 6, but Sunbird keepers made just two saves in the loss.

The Cougars (14-3-1, 7-2-1) took the lead thirty minutes in as Ashkon Banihashemi put in a rebounded shot from Nathan Nienhuis. The game went into the break 1-0, but the Cougars would not be denied in the second half, getting goals from Vinicius Dantas, Alex Earl and Nienhuis.

Mihailo Jovanovic and Michael Kuehter led the Sunbirds with three shots each, two on goal.

Not long ago, the Sunbirds were 5-1 heading into the last four conference games with a legitimate shot of winning the conference. Now they are fighting for the chance to host a playoff game as the conference's number four seed.

FPU has a one-game lead over 4-5 Biola, but the Eagles hold the tiebreaker because of their 2-0 win over the Sunbirds.

FPU takes on Point Loma Nazarene (6-9, 3-6 GSAC) in the regular season finale on Saturday at home, at 1:30 pm. It will be senior day for FPU players.