FRESNO, Calif.-An early score equated to an early-season win as the Fresno Pacific Sunbirds (1-0 overall, 0-0 PacWest) squeezed a 1-0 victory against The Master's University Mustangs (0-1 overall, 0-0 GSAC) Thursday night at Ramirez Field.

The Sunbirds wasted no time striking first as Isaac Cardenas recovered a loose ball inside the box, passed it away from the keeper and setup Antonioangel Lepe for a blast into the top right corner of the net for a 1-0 lead.

FPU kept up the attack throughout the first half, dominating possession, and outshooting TMU 11-2 over the first 45 minutes.

The Sunbirds forced four saves in the 1^st half with constant pressure.

The activity centered around Gabriel Monteiro and Omri Schwartz while Denis Haeberle snuffed out any of the Mustangs' attacks.

The opponents tightened up a bit in the 2^nd period and let loose three shots but FPU stopped them all, including goalkeeper Hunter Shephard's lone save of the game.

But Shephard was more than capable throughout the contest and helped direct traffic thought the 88 minutes that followed the lone goal of the game.

Lepe's 2^nd minute goal stood up as the game winner and Fresno Pacific withstood a pair of late chances by the Mustangs, both missing wide of the far post.

Fresno Pacific will have a break from official competition with their Alumni Game Sunday night before returning to action Monday, September 5^th with a trip to Turlock and a match against Stanislaus State.

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