HAYWARD, Calif. – The Fresno Pacific women's water polo team played Cal State East Bay tight for the third time this season, but the Sunbirds couldn't hold a late lead and fell on the road 11-9 at Pioneer Pool on Saturday.
 
Amber Penney led the Sunbirds with five goals, which marked the third consecutive game with five. Julia Ponce, Kaitlin Groothuyzen, Emily Knowles and Sam Witt rounded out the scoring with a goal apiece.
 
FPU trailed 6-4 at the intermission, but exploded for five goals in the third period to take a 9-8 lead as the final quarter approached. The Pioneers, however, took control of the game with three unanswered goals in the fourth to earn the 11-9 win.
 
Kaylin Drum played the first half and recorded five saves for FPU. Courtney Hall took the cage for the second half and recorded five saves as well.
 
FPU was held to an 0-for-10 clip on power play situations. The Sunbirds (1-5) drop the three-game season series with the Pioneers (4-5) with the setback.
 
"The girls showed a lot of heart battling back from being down," said head coach Bryan Suhovy. "It was a hard-fought game. The fourth quarter pressure got to us and we couldn't hold on the lead we earned. I'm proud of how hard we worked, and each game has had new lessons learned. We're now recovering and getting ready for Sonoma tomorrow."
 
The Sunbirds travel to Rohnert Park to face the Seawolves at 1 p.m.