GAME 9: PACWEST CONTEST
@ Dominican
Friday, Oct. 7 •  2:30 p.m.
Kennelly Field • St. San Rafael, Calif.
Live Stats • Live Video

SCHEDULE NOTES
After this week, the Sunbirds follow with visiting Azusa Pacific and Point Loma. Academy of Art and Holy Names come calling on Oct. 19 and 22, respectively, before the 'Birds make their final road trip of the season with a pair of league matches against California Baptist and Concordia. FPU hosts Hawaii Hilo on Nov. 3 and will celebrate Senior Day on Nov. 5 against Hawaii Pacific to wrap up the regular season.
 
PACWEST STANDINGS
As of Oct. 4, Fresno Pacific currently sits in first place in the PacWest Conference standings, while the Penguins are in a tie for 10th.
   
ABOUT FRESNO PACIFIC (5-3-0, 3-1-0 PACWEST)
FPU went 1-1 last week, besting Notre Dame de Namur in overtime on Thursday before falling 3-2 to Dixie State on Saturday evening. Three Sunbirds have now recorded three goals this season, as Alyssa Nakaguchi, Sassy Weigant and Amber Rodriguez are all tied for the team lead in that category. Between the posts, Summer Hammond has earned an .830 save percentage, tallying 39 saves and surrendering just eight goals to this point in the season.
 
ABOUT DOMINICAN (1-4-3, 1-2-1 PACWEST)
The Penguins are coming off two PacWest losses last week (Azusa Pacific, Point Loma) that both came by a final of 1-0. Stephanie Pawek currently leads the team with three scores, while Alyssa Ramos' 38 saves are a team-high.  
 
SERIES HISTORY: FPU VS DOMINICAN
The Sunbirds claim a 9-1-2 record in the all-time series against Dominican, including a win in each of the last three seasons. Most recently, FPU took last season's meeting by a final of 3-0 after Mariah Montoya went for two scores and Bianka Garcia added the final goal.

HEAD COACH ROB PODEYN
Rob Podeyn joined the FPU staff in 2015 as head women's soccer coach. In his first season with the team, he guided a team that had finished 6-8-2 the previous year to a record-breaking season that saw the team lead the league in shots on goal while tying for the best record in program history. 
 
Podeyn began his coaching career after a successful seven-year professional playing career as a goalkeeper. He played collegiately at Long Island-C.W. Post (1984-1987) where he was an NCAA Division II All-American while leading his team to the NCAA quarterfinals as a senior. That year, Podeyn led the nation in save percentage (.893) and ranked fifth in the nation in saves with 107. He went on to spend seven seasons with the Long Island Stars of the American Soccer League, earning league MVP honors twice while setting a league record of 973 consecutive shutout minutes.
 
He holds an overall career coaching record of 109-98-20, including a 9-6-2 mark in his first season at FPU. He holds a bachelor's degree in English from Dowling College and a master's of education from William Woods University. Podeyn teaches in the university's kinesiology department, focusing primarily on the areas of sport psychology and leadership.
 
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