SANTA CLARA, Calif. – The Fresno Pacific women's water polo team dropped a pair of close games on Saturday at the Santa Clara Mini Tournament. FPU dropped the opener to Sonoma State 10-8 before falling in the final minute to Cal State East Bay 10-9 in the evening.
 
The Sunbirds fall to 0-3 overall on the young season with the setbacks.
 
"It's early in the season and we're learning to play with several new girls," said head coach Bryan Suhovy. "We have young girls playing key positions, so each game has a big learning curve. We're disappointed with the losses, but happy with the continued growth and learning."
 
FPU started well in the opener and jumped out to a 5-3 lead early in the second period. SSU answered with two goals of its own to make the halftime score 5-5. The Seawolves went on to out-score the Sunbirds 5-3 in the second half to earn the win.
 
Newcomer Amber Penney led the Sunbirds with three goals, while Julia Ponce added two. Emily Knowles, Hannah Holly and Nonie Grant also added one goal apiece. Sam Witt facilitated the offense with a pair of assists. Kaylin Drum totaled eight saves in the cage.
 
Nicole Groat led the Seawolves with a hat trick, while Taylor Plorin added seven saves.
 
In the second game of the day, the Sunbirds couldn't hold off a furious rally from Cal State East Bay in the final quarter. FPU led 9-6 with 6:23 to play, but a 4-0 run from the Pioneers proved to be the difference.
 
Knowles led the charge for the Sunbirds with a hat trick, while Penney totaled a pair of goals. Kaitlin Groothuyzen, Coco Demoulin, Savannah Mangrum and Sam Witt rounded out the scoring with one goal apiece. Courtney Hall made seven saves in the cage.
 
Auriel Bill led the Pioneers with four goals, while Nikki Vaughn added nine saves.
 
"Individually, Nonie and Emma stepped up at center defense all day and Emily really stepped up in the second half of the East Bay game," said Suhovy. "Gaining Amber for the season has created positive change and a more dynamic offense for us. As we continue to learn to play with each other, I'm excited to see how everyone else steps up."
 
FPU is back in action on Saturday, February 11 as the Sunbirds host Concordia and Cal State Monterey Bay.