FRESNO, Calif. -  The Fresno Pacific University men's soccer team earned a 2-1 victory on Thursday, defeating Hawai'i-Hilo in PacWest action. The Sunbirds improve to 7-7-3 with the win, including a 5-4-2 mark in league action.

Jorge Chedraui entered Thursday night with five career goals, including a hat trick and three game-winners against the Vulcans. On Thursday, Joey Belzil launched a perfect cross, paving the way for a Chedraui header to start the scoring in the game's 37th minute.

The Guayaquil, Ecuador native also extended his team lead in goals to ten, moving him into sixth on the school's all-time scoring list.

"We talked before the game about the meaning this game had for both teams, and their energy and effort in every situation made it difficult for us to generate a fluid game," head coach Jaime Ramirez said. "We had to recognize that the pride we have in our program had to be respected and protected."

The Sunbirds carried a slim 1-0 advantage into the locker room at the intermission, but UHH's Rodrigo put the Vulcans on the board 16 minutes into the second half. After Belzil's shot was deflected four minutes later, Eric Sanchez fired a shot to the lower left corner for his third score of the season, and the FPU defense was able to hold on for the duration of the night.

Matias Fernandez picked up four saves in the net for the Blue and Orange, while UHH counterpart Cassidy Dixon tallied a career-high 11 saves. The Sunbirds claimed a 5-0 advantage in corner kicks and outshot their guests by a tally of 19-11.

Fresno Pacific is set to return home on Saturday, when they will host Hawai'i Pacific in the final game of the 2016 season. Opening whistle is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. from Ramirez Field, with the Sunbirds recognizing their senior class beforehand.

The game will feature the top two of the top four scorers in the PacWest, as Chedraui and HPU's Sven Koenig have combined for 28 goals and 67 total points.

"We haven't beaten them since we joined the conference, and they are a talented team," Ramirez said. "It will be a much different game than this one, but we want to be able to send our seniors off with a victory."