The Sunbirds looked comfortable back at home in their first match since returning from Hawaii. FPU put away two goals in the final 10 minutes to pull away from Dominican 4-1.

Dominant possession and spectacular goalkeeping by Fabian Rangel were the calling cards of the match for FPU.

“I thought we started off strong,” said head coach Jaime Ramirez. “We created a number of scoring opportunities.”

Fresno Pacific pushed the attack from the opening whistle which culminated in Gustavo Silva's second goal of the season on the cross from Alvaro Nogales in the 27th minute to give the Sunbirds the early 1-0 lead.

Fabricio Nazare, Bruno Pessoa, Guillermo Talancon and Gustavo Silva all scored for the Sunbirds who have now won four of their last five matches.  

The second goal came on a well-placed lob pass from Paul Islas that found the chest of Pessoa who just pushed it in to put FPU up by two at the half.

Dominican came out of the break with positive play, pushing the ball forward at every opportunity. The Penguins finally got on the board in the 52nd minute on a low and hard shot by Nuri Bon-Acosta that just went past Rangel.

“It looked like things were going well for us,” said Ramirez. “Then they got one back. In soccer momentum is everything, and when you have a 2-0 lead and you give one back, the momentum shifts. For about fifteen minutes after the score they were bringing it to us.”

DUC continued their relentless attack which led to an excellent chance on a set piece. Pedro Guevara ripped a shot into the top corner of the net but Rangel made a spectacular save to put it out for a corner.

“I thought Fabian was huge,” said Ramirez. “He came up with a big save on what could have been the equalizer. He just took the ball out of the corner, it was fantastic.”

After the near goal the Sunbirds began pushing back late in the game. Silva found Nazare on a give and go that led to a goal in the side netting in the 83rd minute.

Talancon struck again for FPU on a string of good passes that led to the one-on-one with the goalie. Talancon rocketed the shot past keeper Erik Anderson who had not chance for the save from the close distance. The goal was the nail in the coffin in the 88th minute for the Sunbirds who will get a rematch with Dominican in San Rafael next week.

The Sunbirds will be hosting Latino Celebration Night which will feature some of the Valley's top Taco Trucks and discounted ticket prices. Tickets will be $2 for general admission with all proceeds going to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The event is being put on by the Fresno Pacific Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).