FRESNO, Calif. – The Fresno Pacific University men's soccer team came away with a convincing 6-2 victory on Saturday night, defeating Hawai'i Pacific in the final game of the season. The Sunbirds finish the season at 8-7-3 overall and 7-4-2 in the PacWest Conference, marking the sixth straight season with a finish of .500 or better.

"We've been wanting to perform this way all season long against very good teams, and Hawai'i Pacific is as good as anybody," head coach Jaime Ramirez said. "For us to be able to lean on our seniors tonight was huge, and to get our first victory against these guys since joining the conference was fantastic."

Prior to Saturday night, the Sunbirds were 11-0 all-time in games that saw Joey Belzil find the back of the net. The senior started the scoring less than two minutes into the night, setting the tone for the rest of the evening at Ramirez Field.

HPU's Sven Koenig extended his conference lead to 20 goals in the games 13th minute to pull the Sharks even on the scoreboard, but the FPU offense was just getting warmed up. Eric Sanchez struck 62 seconds later to give the Sunbirds their second lead of the night, and Belzil added a second score less than four minutes to ignite the offense.

Fellow senior Jorge Chedraui got in on the scoring in the 33rd minute, pushing the halftime lead to 4-1 for the Blue and Orange. Koenig added a goal 14 minutes into the second period, but FPU ensured their guests would inch no closer.

Belzil scored his final career goal in the 85th minute, recording his third career hat trick along the way. Sergio Segura added a goal to push the lead to 6-2, and the Sunbirds were able to end the season on a high note.

"There are no words to describe what Fresno Pacific means to me. When I arrived here for the first time, I had no idea it was going to mean what it does to me," Chedraui said. "I'm so thankful for everyone who makes this an amazing place."