Fresno Pacific took on two of the top 20 teams in the nation but was unable to come away with a win on day one of The Rodeo Tournament at Santa Clara.
In the first match the Sunbirds took on the #16 UC Davis Aggies. The Sunbirds hung with UC Davis through two quarters going down just three into the break at 8-5.
But the Aggies were able to wrestle control away from FPU in the third quarter and outscored the Sunbirds 5-2 to go up by six.
“We went out playing hard and stayed with them the first half,” said head coach Bryan Suhovy. “In the third quarter we got away from the game plan and our structure and that gave them the opportunity to pull away.”
In the fourth Fresno Pacific was unable to finish the rally and eventually fell 18-9.
“Once we regrouped and got back to our game we were holding strong again in the 4th. All in all I am happy with our performance,” said Suhovy.
Daniel Seymour rattled in four goals to lead the Sunbirds. Sascha Ludwig, Glenn Lyon, Zlatko Vlasic and Dan Wilson each added one goal apiece.
In match two FPU was once again up a top 20 team, this time the #12 Brown Bears.
The Sunbirds nearly had enough to take down one of the best teams in the nation but came up just short in the 14-10 loss.
“Our second game against a strong 12th ranked Brown was even better. We finished only four goals behind playing our strongest game yet,” said Suhovy.
The Bears used a 6-2 third quarter to pull away from FPU before the Sunbirds stormed back late in the fourth. Fresno Pacific outscored Brown 5-1 in the frame but ran out of time in their bid for a comeback.
Lyon led the way in scoring with three goals for FPU who lost by their smallest margin of the season against a ranked team.
“Glenn Lyon really came through for us. His strong presence in the center caught Brown off guard,” said Suhovy. “When they tried to drop our outside shooters stepped up.”
Wilson added two for FPU in his third match back from injury and Ian Roos, Matt Boogard, Justin Lopez-Lamb, Vlasic and Ludwig each chipped in with one goal in the match.
Fresno Pacific continues play in The Rodeo Tournament tomorrow at 10:40 am against the host team #19 Santa Clara. That match will be followed by a 4 pm showdown with #13 Air Force.
