Fresno Pacific suffered a narrow-defeat in the first game of the Claremont Convergence, 8-7 in overtime to Redlands, but bounced back to knock off Occidental 9-6 in the afternoon.

The first game was a battle from start to finish with neither team being able to establish control. Once it went to overtime, Redlands built up a two-goal lead but the Sunbirds responded with a goal of their own. Unfortunately, numerous attempts in the game's final minutes did not quite find the net.

"Three years ago we lost 22-5, last year we lost 12-7. So we are definitely showing improvement still as a young team," said coach Bryan Suhovy after the first game.

The second game remained a low-scoring affair with for much of the match, with the score tied at two. Finally the Sunbirds were able to establish control and scored a quick succession of goals to take a four-point lead and never looked back.

"We are happy with the win today, but really want to leave the tournament 3-1 with two wins tomorrow," said Suhovy.

. . . . .

On Saturday the Sunbirds would once again lose a tightly-contested first game, but rebound in the afternoon with a win. FPU fell 11-8 to Chapman in the morning, but scored a season-high 20 goals in a 20-8 rout of Connecticut College.

Glenn Lyon and Evan Baird carried the offense in game one, as FPU led 5-3 after the first quarter and was tied at six at the half. The offense was stagnant in the second half though, as Chapman pulled away for the win.

The team made some adjustments before the second game and came out firing, with six goals in the first quarter. The Sunbirds would not let up, downing Connecticut College with a flurry of goals.

"We were extremely focused going into the game and it showed in the pool," said senior captain Chris Maldonado. "We were clicking both offensively and defensively."

The Sunbirds host Delta College at 3 pm on Wedneday, then head to the Concordia Tournament this weekend, October 16-17.