SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Fresno Pacific (1-12) came back strong in the second half against No. 12 UC Santa Barbara, but did not have enough to overtake the nationally ranked team.  The Sunbirds trailed 3-7 at halftime, but only lost to the Gauchos 9-11.

The Sunbirds shared the ball well with six scorers in the game.  Three girls led the team with two goals apiece: Borbala Toth, Nicolette Haley and Melissa Perry.  Katie Rayner, Jenn Wolter and Deborah Wall each scored a goal for the Sunbirds as well.

Dani Mortimer had five saves and kept Santa Barbara to one goal in both the second and third quarter to give the Sunbirds a chance to catch up.  The Sunbirds trailed early 1-6, but fought back with a 5-2 run in the middle two quarters to pull within two points.

Coach Bryan Suhovy commented, “We played well and showed some great growth as a team.”

The Sunbirds will look to use the experience and growth as they head to Cal Lutheran for a two-day tournament.  The Sunbirds will face Occidental, Villanova, Whittier and La Verne for their four-game weekend.  Their tournament begins against Occidental on Friday, March 5 at 12:30 p.m.