Box Score

LOS ANGELES – #7-seed Fresno Pacific played a hard match against the #6-seed Azusa Pacific, falling10-8 in their final game at the Golden Coast Conference championships.

The Sunbirds came out ready to play but APU managed to net two-quick goals. Mallory Rettig and Kaeli Hanson fought hard to even the score. However, the Cougars snuck another goal by Kelsie Harvey for a 3-2 advantage at the end of the first quarter. APU extended their lead at halftime to 6-2. The Cougars added three-goals and played tough defense keeping the Sunbirds off the board during the second quarter.

"We came out fired-up and played a strong first quarter," said head coach Bryan Suhovy. "In the second we dug ourselves into a hole, letting them outscore us 3-0. We just couldn't come back from that."

FPU tried to mount a comeback in the second-half, matching the Cougars goal-for-goal during the third quarter. Harvey had a commanding performance in the cage during the final quarter, holding the Cougars scoreless while Alyssa Stevens and Emily Marr added goals for the Sunbirds.

Harvey had ten saves throughout the match, as the Sunbirds were led in scoring by Nia Apodaca who scored two-goals in the third quarter and Marr who scored twice in the second half.

"The girls fought hard trying to work their way back, but in the end we gave them too much of a lead in the first half," said Suhovy. "The girls worked hard this season and we are proud of them. We now have a year of conference play under our belts and know what to expect next year."

Today's loss marks the conclusion of the Sunbirds' 2014 season, but the future is bright as the team quadrupled its victories from last season and returns the majority of its young talent next year.