FRESNO, Calif. – The Fresno Pacific women's soccer team was tripped up on Wednesday night, despite setting a new season-high in shots with 26. The Sunbirds drew the short straw again, however, falling 2-1 to Westmont College, the 8th-ranked team in the NAIA.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: Westmont 2, FPU 1 
Records: FPU (0-3-1), Westmont (4-0-1)
Location: Ramirez Field | Fresno, Calif. 
All-Time Series: Westmont leads 11-2
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QUOTABLE

• "I thought we absolutely dominated again the first half, and we played our game well. We moved the ball around, switched the field, moved away from pressure, and created chances. We came out flat to start the second half, and they caught us. We settled back into our game and started to control things again, but we just couldn't find the tying goal," head coach Rob Podeyn said. "This was another game that we probably should have won and didn't, and we have to learn to play our game for a full 90 minutes. We were better tonight than we were two days ago, and Westmont is a good team. We're starting to recognize what we need to do with more consistency, so we are going to focus on finishing over the next couple of days. It's obviously taken longer than we wanted, but our wins are coming."

 
HOW IT HAPPENED: 

• Fresno Pacific wasted little time getting on the scoreboard, finding the back of the net less than seven minutes into the game. 
• The Sunbirds controlled almost every aspect of the game for the first 45 minutes, as the Warriors managed just one shot on goal. 
• Westmont found the equalizer 14 minutes into the second half, taking advantage of a short corner kick from the right side.
• Five minutes later, the Warriors struck again, going on top 2-1 for the final score of the night.  

 
SCORING: 

• (6:19) Alexis Macias chipped over the Westmont back line and into the box, connecting with freshman Tori De Leon for the first goal of her collegiate career. 
• (59:52) Teagan Matye lined up for the corner and dumped off to Savannah Scott on a short effort. Scott then found the right foot of Katelyn Merrell, who fired to the lower left corner. 
• (64:55) Kira Nemeth caught the Sunbirds off guard with a deep cross over the middle, allowing Maddi Berthoud to give the Warriors the rest of the offense needed for the victory.  

 
STATS: 

• The Sunbirds outshot their guests 26-9, including an 8-3 mark in shots on frame.  
• Westmont's Gabi Haw picked up five saves in the net, while Hannah Hathaway gave the Sunbirds a save of her own in her season debut.  
• The Sunbirds took six of the eight corner kicks for the night. 

 
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:

• FPU has outshot opponents 74-39 through four games. 
• Hathaway became the third Sunbird to start in the net this season. 
• De Leon's score was the first by an FPU freshman this fall.  

 
UP NEXT

• The Blue and Orange return to the pitch on Saturday, when they clash with regional power Cal State LA at Ramirez Field. Opening whistle is scheduled for 5:00 p.m.