Box Score

Fresno Pacific earned a big conference win on Tuesday night, scoring twice in the final 15 minutes to defeat #21 Biola 3-1 in La Mirada. Rodrigo Vianna scored twice for the Sunbirds, including the go-ahead goal in the 77th minute. The Sunbirds, winners of five straight, improved to 4-0 in GSAC play and 8-3 overall.

"We're doing a good job of finding the right people at opportune times," said Sunbird coach Jaime Ramirez. "This was a great team effort. We had a lot of energy, our subs really helped out a lot. I feel good about where we're at. The guys continue to trust and believe in each other."

Paul Islas, who was named NAIA Player of the Week earlier today, assisted on the first goal to continue his run scoring or assisting on a goal in every game this season. He created the opportunity in the 17th minute with a quick run down the right side. Vianna, trailing the play, got into the box and was right there for the goal when Islas passed it off.

The Eagles (7-3-2, 2-2 GSAC) would tie it up just before halftime on a tough shot by Marco Ruvalcaba. The second half was back and forth, with both teams creating enough chances to keep the other defense on its toes. Though a tie on the road against a ranked opponent would have been a favorable result, the Sunbirds were not going to settle.

Ramirez made some key substitions on the outside to add pressure and it paid off as some stellar midfield play from Gustavo Silva helped result in the go-ahead goal by Vianna, a point-blank shot in the 77th minute. Michael Kuehter was credited with the assist.

With the Eagles increasing the offensive pressure being down a goal, the Sunbirds capitalized on a counterattack two minutes later on a great read by Fabricio Nazare who netted his third goal of the season on a pass from Silva.

Earlier in the day the new NAIA rankings were released, with the Sunbirds coming in five spots outside of the Top 25. In the GSAC ratings, which partially determine where a team ends up ranked, the Sunbirds had been slated fifth in the conference, despite their undefeated GSAC record and win over Azusa Pacific.

One of the teams ranked ahead of FPU was Biola, another was #23 Vanguard who the Sunbirds face on Saturday. While the team is clearly getting the short end of the stick in the rankings, another strong showing this weekend against the defending GSAC champ Lions would likely get the voters' attention.

The Sunbirds and Lions will face off on Saturday at 5 pm at Ramirez Field.

Around the GSAC
Concordia (H) 4, San Diego Christian 1
Azusa Pacific (H) 1, Westmont 0
The Masters 4, Hope International (H) 1