FRESNO, Calif. -  The Fresno Pacific men's soccer team played its' PacWest Conference home-opener on Thursday evening, as the Sunbirds squashed the visiting Dominican Penguins 4-1.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP: 

• Final: FPU 3, DUC 1
• Records: FPU (2-1, 1-1 PacWest), DUC (0-2, 0-2 PacWest)
• Location: Ramirez Field | Fresno, Calif.      

QUOTABLE:   

• "Our game plan was to come out aggressive and go after them. We wanted to make them turn the ball over in their half and rely on our ability in the midfield and front line and our senior core.  Our set pieces worked really well. We were effective on corner kicks and free kicks, which we've been working on. We've been able to capitalize on the time we spent working on those and it showed."  – head coach Jaime Ramirez. 

SCORING:  

• (1:38) A free kick was sent into the box by Fellipe Souza and was finished by Eduardo Villar to give the Sunbirds the instant advantage.
• (5:01) Villar's second goal of the day came off an assist from Jacob Bynum.
• (10:38) Souza scored his second goal of the season after beating a Penguin defender on a breakaway toward the net that Souza finished with his right foot.
• (82:57) Souza capped an outstanding evening for Sunbirds with a diving header that resulted in a goal that was assisted by Alejandro Blazquez. 

STATS FROM THE GAME:  

• FPU outshot their guests 14-7, including a mark of 4-2 in shots on target. 

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE: 

• Villar scored his first and second career goals with the Sunbirds on Thursday.  
• The Sunbirds have now won the last five matches they've played against the Penguins.
• The Sunbirds have been victorious the last eight contests against the Penguins on Ramirez Field. 

UP NEXT:  

• The Sunbirds return to league action on Tuesday, February 16, when they host Academy of Art at Ramirez Field. Stay tuned to Sunbird Social and FPUAthletics.com for all schedule updates for this season.   

SUNBIRD SOCIAL:

• Twitter - @fpusunbirds
• Instagram - @fpusunbirds 
• Facebook - /FPUathletics