SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – Fresno Pacific opened its 2015 campaign with an exhibition loss to Cal Poly, 4-0, Saturday night at Spanos Stadium. FPU pressured the net for much of the night but was unable to overcome an early goal from the Mustangs.
"We learned a lot about ourselves tonight and I was very pleased with our effort" said head coach Jaime Ramirez. "I thought we had the better of the run offensively throughout the match. Our attackers were impressive, creating great combinations and runs all evening."
The Mustangs' Chase Minter opened the scoring in the 9th minute after FPU committed a foul in the box. Minter buried the penalty kick to give Cal Poly an early 1-0 lead.
The Sunbirds, who were forced to play a man down for most of the night after Eli Gallegos was issued a red card in the 32nd minute, outshot the Mustangs 7-4 in the first half. FPU opened the game with three consecutive shots, one coming on goal from Jorge Chedraui, but couldn't find the back of the net. Cal Poly's Wade Hamilton was forced to make four saves in the opening half to preserve a 1-0 lead at the intermission.
FPU opened the second half with a shot form Alvaro Nogales, but the senior lefty fired wide left. The Sunbirds continued to look for the equalizer with misses from Renato Bustamante in the 56th minute and Dallas Whitlow in the 72nd minute.
A short time later, the Mustangs were able to distance themselves with a goal in the 73rd minute from Joseph Bolous. Cal Poly would go on to score two more times before the 90th minute to make the final score 4-0.
"The player of the match was Benjamin Cowdrill, who did a great job of winning the ball and distributing," said Ramirez. "We had plenty of opportunities, but couldn't find the equalizer after the early penalty. As we continue to get deeper into training camp and strengthen our legs under us, we will bury those opportunities."
The Sunbirds and Mustangs finished the evening with 10 shots apiece, with FPU's five shots on goal being saved. The Sunbirds totaled five corner kicks compared Cal Poly's three.
Nogales led all players with four shots, while Bustamante tallied two for the Sunbirds.
The back line of Whitlow, Sergi Nus and Emmanuel Ochoa forced the Mustangs offside 14 times throughout the match. Goalkeeper Andrew Luis concluded the game with two saves.
The match marked the 11th time the two schools have met, with Cal Poly earning its seventh win of the series (3-7-1).
FPU continues its preseason with two home scrimmages on Tuesday, August 25 (7 pm) and Saturday, August 29 (7 pm). The Sunbirds' season opener is slated for Thursday, September 3 (7 pm) against Cal Poly Pomona at Ramirez Field.
