FRESNO, Calif. – Emily Marr scored with under a second left to give Fresno Pacific its first win of the season Saturday with a 4-3 victory over Cal State Monterey Bay at Sunnyside Aquatics Center. The Sunbirds salvaged a split on the day after falling to #20 CSU Bakersfield 14-6 earlier in the morning.
Mallory Rettig led the Sunbirds (1-6) offensively with three goals on the day, while
Courtney Hall totaled 21 saves.
In the morning session, the Sunbirds fell into a 4-0 hole and couldn't overcome the deficit. FPU scored three times in the second quarter and trailed 7-3 at the half.
The Roadrunners put away the game with five scores in the third. FPU tallied three goals in the final period but fell 14-6 to nationally-ranked CSUB.
Rettig led the offense with two scores for FPU.
Kaitlin Fletcher, Marr,
Kaeli Hanson and
Nia Apodaca rounded out the scoring with a goal apiece.
Hall finished with nine saves in the loss for the Sunbirds.
"We started off the morning slow against MPSF DI CSU Bakersfield," said head coach
Bryan Suhovy. "The athletes were ready and fired up for Monterey and it showed. They came out strong and controlled the game."
In the nightcap, the Sunbirds used their best defensive effort of the season to earn the win and avenge last week's loss to CSUMB.
FPU shutout the Otters in the first half to set the tone for the game. The offense countered with three goals in the opening period to give FPU the advantage.
CSUMB answered with three straight goals, however, in the second half to knot the game at three with 4:45 remaining.
After multiple possessions and strong defensive stops from each team, the Sunbirds finally found the back of the cage with under a second to play to earn the win. Marr scored on a set play after a timeout was called with seven seconds remaining."Monterey made a solid run but our girls held strong," said Suhovy. "Nia made a great inside pass to Emily for a game-winning goal at .9 seconds left in the game."Rettig, Fletcher, Apodaca and Marr scored a goal apiece in the win. Apodaca dished out two assists while
Mikayla Scheer added three steals. Hall recorded 12 blocks in the cage.
"I'm proud of the fight and consistency our women showed," said Suhovy. "Courtney really stepped up in the cage today. She is showing a lot of growth and helped solidify our defense. I'm proud of the energy the entire team brought to the game."FPU is back in action this Friday against Golden Coast Conference foe San Diego State. The game is slated for a 7 p.m. start at Sunnyside Aquatics Center.
