CLAREMONT, Calif. – Courtney Hall's 12 saves salvaged a day split for Fresno Pacific at the Convergence Tournament Saturday, as the Sunbirds defeated Occidental in the finale of the tourney, 9-3. FPU fell in the opener against Whittier, 12-7.
The Sunbirds snap a five-game skid with the victory and move to 5-13 overall following the split.
"It was a tough weekend of games but we learned a lot and are walking away a better team. I'm proud of how the team is continuing to find passion and heart," said head coach
Bryan Suhovy. "Against Whittier we came out with a lot more intensity. We just had a hard time adjusting to their game and they capitalized on that."
The Sunbirds battled in the opener, but couldn't overcome a 4-1 Whittier lead after the first quarter. Each team scored four times in the middle periods before the Poets used a 4-2 final quarter to make the final 12-7.
Emily Marr scored a trio of goals,
Kaitlin Fletcher recorded two goals and
Julia Ponce and
Mikayla Scheer found the back of the cage with one apiece.
Samantha Clark added two assists for the Sunbirds.
Kelsie Harvey made four saves and recorded three steals in the cage for FPU.
"In the Oxy game we were ready for a win and came out showing it," said Suhovy. "We made a solid run in the second and continued that in the third to make the difference."
In the evening session against Occidental, the Sunbirds used a 7-0 run in the middle two periods to take control of the game. The game was knotted at 1-1 after the opening quarter before FPU followed with the run. Each team tallied a score in the fourth period to make the final 9-3 in favor of the Sunbirds.
Kaeli Hanson led the charge offensively with a hat-trick, while Ponce added two scores.
Nia Apodaca, Marr, Scheer and
Alyssa Stevens rounded out the scoring with one apiece. Scheer added three assists and Apodaca added two dimes and three steals.
The three goals allowed by FPU ties a season best on the defensive end.
FPU is back in action at the Lancer Invitational in Riverside on March 13-14.
