FRESNO, Calif. – Kelsie Harvey piled up 15 saves for Fresno Pacific Saturday on Senior Day, but the Sunbirds fell just short to visiting California Baptist, 10-9, in the regular season finale at Sunnyside Aquatics Center.
 
FPU heads into the Golden Coast Conference (GCC) championships next weekend with a mark of 7-22 overall and 0-6 in league play. CBU moves to 18-13 overall and 2-4 in conference with the win.
 
"I'm really proud of how hard our women played today," said head coach Bryan Suhovy. "We came out a little slow but ramped it up and finished hard, especially considering we had two starters out. Our four seniors did an amazing job in their final home game. Kelsie Harvey and Mallory Rettig really stepped up and led the charge. Samantha Clark had outstanding defense at the center position, and Bree Stevens led several sprint and counter attack opportunities. Overall I am happy with our team and excited to see what they do next week at GCC Championships. We are going to miss our seniors, but I'm proud of how they helped this program grow the last several years."
 
The Sunbirds trailed 7-4 at the intermission and used a strong third period to jump back into the match. FPU closed the final minute of the third on a 2-0 run to knot the game at eight apiece with goals from Alyssa Stevens and Mallory Rettig.
 
The Lancers answered with a 2-0 run of their own, however, to open the fourth quarter and take control of the game. FPU found the back of the cage when Nia Apodaca fired a shot from distance with under a minute to go, but the Sunbirds wouldn't come any closer to fall 10-9.
 
Rettig and Stevens led FPU with three goals apiece, while Kaeli Hanson added two scores. Apodaca tallied the final goal and Kaitlin Fletcher facilitated the offense with four assists.
 
Defensively, Harvey recorded her 13th double-digit save performance of the year. The senior also added four steals and a five-meter penalty stop.
 
FPU travels to Stockton on Thursday, April 23 to take part in the GCC Championships.