Fresno Pacific was on the losing end of a hard-fought game at Sacramento State on Wednesday, falling 1-0 to the NCAA Division I Hornets.

"We went into this game focusing on our defensive organization as we knew we were going to absorb a significant amount of pressure from them," said head coach Erik Farfan. "I was really proud of our team's defensive effort and we defended well throughout outside of the one breakdown. We did a good job of frustrating their attack and most of their opportunities were far from the goal."

Jennifer Lum scored the game-winner for the Hornets (3-3) just before halftime, in the 44th minute. Sarah King made six saves in goal for the Sunbirds (1-2), who were out-shot 7-2 in shots on goal.

Ashley Tallon gave the Sunbirds a golden opportunity in the 32nd minute as she and Jerrica Babb combined on a nice scoring chance. Tallon's shot was deflected by the goalie and hit the post before going out of bounds for a corner kick on a play that would have given FPU the early lead.

FPU opens up PacWest Conference play this coming Tuesday at home when they take on Dixie State at 4:30 pm at Ramirez Field.

"We feel like this game gives us confidence heading into the PacWest opener and prepares us to play at a high level," said Farfan. "We saw some definite improvement throughout these first three matches and we took something from each match that we can build on. We're excited to play in front of our home crowd again and optimistic that we can open conference with a win."