Fresno Pacific vs. La Verne
Fresno Pacific vs. Redlands

A 5-0 fourth quarter sparked the Sunbirds during a second-half comeback in a 10-8 win over La Verne in the first match of day one at the Lancer Invitational. FPU fell 14-6 to No. 19 Redlands in the afternoon match. 
 
"All-in-all I am very pleased with how we played today," said head coach Bryan Suhovy. "It was a great comeback by our guys against La Verne in the first game, and we hung in with one of the best teams in the country right until the fourth quarter."
 
Sophomore David Maes scored four times to lead all scorers in the win, and senior Stephen Chafi and junior Zlatko Vlasic scored twice. Senior goalkeeper Jake Finney was outstanding in goal for the Sunbirds allowing just eight goals while stopping a season-high 13 shots.
 
FPU came out strong taking a 4-3 lead after the first quarter, a lead they let slip away as the Leopards clamped down on defense en route to a 4-1 quarter and a 7-5 halftime lead. Both teams struggled in the third quarter with just one goal between them. In the fourth the Sunbirds got scoring from five different players including sophomore Daniel Seymour who hit the game-winning goal with 2:57 remaining. Freshman Kyle Madel added the insurance goal as the Sunbirds moved to 2-2 on the season.
 
The Sunbirds dipped back below .500 with an afternoon loss to No. 19 Redlands, the first ranked team FPU has played this season. 
 
Two goals by Vlasic in the second quarter helped bring the Sunbirds back from an early 3-0 deficit to tie the match at four heading into halftime. FPU kept the Bulldogs within reach until a furious fourth quarter put the game on ice for Redlands. Michael Robinson and Tommy Hartwig each scored a pair in the final frame to drop the Sunbirds to 2-3 on the season.
 
"It was a good day for us. We have to come back and play the same way tomorrow," said Suhovy. 
 
FPU will be back in the water for a pair of matches tomorrow beginning with a game against California Baptist at 10:15 a.m. The Sunbirds will wrap up the Lancer Invite with a match against Occidental at 2:00 p.m.