SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Fresno Pacific dropped its regular season finale on Saturday to Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) opponent Santa Clara, 9-7, at Sullivan Aquatic Center. Zlatko Vlasic led the Sunbirds with a hat trick on the day.

The Sunbirds wrap up the regular season at 10-15 overall and 2-4 in league action, while the 17th-ranked Broncos move to 10-17 overall and 2-3 in the WWPA.

"We fought hard and gave it everything we had," said head coach Bryan Suhovy. "We were in the game until the final minute, but just couldn't get the last few goals we needed. I'm proud of the team for their hard work."

The Broncos jumped out quick and led 4-2 after the first period before the Sunbirds responded with a 2-0 quarter to take the game tied at four into halftime. SCU responded with five second half goals to FPU's three to earn the win.

Vlasic's three goals moved his season total to 67, which is three away from tying the single-season record at FPU. Kyle Madel added two goals for the Sunbirds, while David Maes and Daniel Seymour rounded out the scoring with a goal apiece. Seymour added two assists, which moved the senior into first in the single-season assists record book with 53.

Kevin Richey added 11 saves in the cage for FPU.

The Sunbirds now travel to the WWPA Championships in Colorado Springs, Colo. on Nov. 20-22. FPU will await its seeding in the coming week with a full tournament bracket to be released.