Fresno Pacific rallied from a 1-0 deficit midway through the first half with three goals in the second to beat Azusa Pacific 3-1 for the second straight year.

"It's a great feeling," said head coach Jaime Ramirez. "Not just for the result. The result is icing on the cake. It is the process, the process of how the guys were able to do it being a goal down to a team with the storied tradition that APU has. Whether it is NAIA or NCAA Division II they are an amazing program." 

Alvaro Nogales came up huge for the Sunbirds (9-4, 7-3) who were missing forward Paul Islas for most of the match. Nogales knocked in two goals including the equalizer early in the second half.

"It was great to see a young player like Alvaro step up and really put the team offensively on his shoulders," said Ramirez. 

FPU was slow to start the game missing on a number of passing opportunities and one golden chance at an early goal.

Azusa (9-4-1, 7-3) swung the momentum their way early on in the first half and began pressing the Sunbirds defense. It paid off in the 19th minute when Steven Shiokari crossed the ball into the box on a breakaway. The ball found Carlos Garcia-Partida and he punched it in on the open goal for the 1-0 lead.

FPU was able to regain control of the game and carried some momentum into halftime.

Out of the break Fresno Pacific made the most of their opportunities and in the 56th minute Nogales took an excellent through ball from Fabricio Nazare into the box with two defenders draped on him but still buried it past keeper Joe Galetko for the equalizing goal.

The second goal came in the 69th minute on a great series of passes that led to a service into the box from Julian Mattaliano that found Bruno Pessoa who headed it into the net for the 3-1 lead. Nazare added to his conference leading assists total with two assists on the night to put him at 14 for the season.

Centerback Luke Tyler and the FPU defense kept APU at bay despite the constant pressure. The Cougars were unable to put together any major threats late in the second half as the Sunbirds cruised to the victory.

"This game gives every one of our player a lot of confidence," said Ramirez. "The message this sends to the other teams is that Fresno Pacific is coming. We have created a wave and it continues to swell and it is coming and taking over whoever is in the way." 

The win puts FPU in the driver's seat for the top seed in the NCCAA West Region and moves them into a three-way tie for third place in the conference.

The Sunbirds will be back in action on Saturday at home against the Academy of Art Urban Knights at 5 pm.