FRESNO, Calif. – The Fresno Pacific men's soccer team picked up a 4-3 victory over Notre Dame de Namur on Saturday night, extending the Sunbirds' winning streak to six games. The win keeps the Blue and Orange in second place in the PacWest Conference standings, setting up the biggest match of the season. 
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: Fresno Pacific 4, Notre Dame de Namur 3
Records: FPU (9-1-1, 4-1-0 PacWest), NDNU (2-8-2, 1-3-2 PacWest)
All-Time Series: FPU leads 9-5-1
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
• FPU fired the opening salvo 23 minutes into the night, but the Argos found the equalizer just before half.
• NDNU took their only lead of the night seven minutes into the second half, but Anthony Velarde pulled the 'Birds even shortly thereafter.
• NDNU's Moises Claudio was presented with his second yellow card of the game, forcing the Argos to play a man down for the final 29 minutes.
• Velarde took advantage of the mismatch, scoring his second goal in less a minute to put the Blue and Orange back in front.
• The Argos again tied the game with seven minutes to play, but the excitement from the goal had barely worn off before Fresno Pacific went back on top for good. 
 
SCORING: 
• (22:39) Pak Hei Chan dribbled into the box and passed to Eric Sanchez, who followed with a quick flick just inside the right post.  
• (44:40) An NDNU free kick found the head of Moises Claudio to get the Argos on the scoreboard for the first time.
• (52:34) Ruben Sanabia's corner kick bent right to Tony Andoyan, and Andoyan slotted the ball just under the crossbar.
• (59:58) Joao Ravasio lined up for the corner, and after a couple of bounces, Velarde came away with the ball and the score.
• (60:40) Ravasio and Jesse Hoekstra made quick passes to Velarde, and he was able to connect to the lower left corner. 
• (83:17) A long free kick off the foot of Josh Santillian sailed just over the head of the FPU keeper, pushing Santillian's team lead in goals to six for the season.
• (84:30) Eduardo Villar teamed up with Brian Leyva, who volleyed with a deep shot into the top right corner for the game-winner.  
 
STATS FROM THE GAME:
• Fresno Pacific outshot their hosts 20-14, including a mark of 11-6 in shots on frame.    
• Patrick Timmer recorded three saves while improving to 9-1-0 on the season, while NDNU counterpart Javier Santana hauled in six saves.   
• The Sunbirds took six of the game's eight corner kicks.
 
BEYOND THE BOX:
• Velarde has recorded at least one point in all but game this season, and he has now posted at least ten goals and ten assists for the second consecutive season.   
• The Sunbirds continued their longest win streak since the 2015 season, when they ended the regular season with seven straight victories and their second consecutive PacWest Conference Championship.
 
SOCIAL:
• Twitter - @fpusunbirds | Instagram - @fpusunbirds | Facebook - /FPUathletics  
 
UP NEXT:
• The Sunbirds return to the pitch on Thursday evening, when they head south to take on Azusa Pacific in a game that could ultimately decide the Pacwest Conference champion. Opening whistle from Azusa is scheduled for 5:00 p.m.