SAN RAFAEL, Calif.-After a scoring dry spell, the Fresno Pacific Sunbirds (2-3 overall) displayed their most complete effort against the team leading the non-conference standings in the PacWest, the Dominican Penguins (4-3 overall), in a 2-0 victory Wednesday afternoon.

After conceding a majority of the chances for a small, early segment, the Sunbirds cranked up the intensity and the hustle in the second half.

"The guys needed this away from home in a place that is tough to play," Fresno Pacific head coach Jaime Ramirez said of the team's result. "It's turf, its old and it's a big field which demands lot of running. The physical exertion was the best we've done all year, collectively. "

Dominican controlled possession throughout the early portion of the 1^st half, drawing a free-kick and a pair of corners over the course of the opening 15 minutes.

The Sunbirds stayed level in the 18^th minute when goalkeeper Elmer Carballo made a terrific save lunging to his left, denying Dominican a goal. The FPU defense cleared the ball out of danger, but it resulted in a corner for Dominican.

"It was a fantastic save by Elmer to keep it," Ramirez said of his keeper. "He made a couple of spectacular saves and that really changed the way our opponents played. You could tell by the end that he was making them think more about what they were doing."

The Penguins had a threatening chance that was again denied on the near post, swept away by Maxi Schreiner, and holding the 0-0 score line throughout the opening 20 minutes.

Fresno Pacific earned a pair of set pieces with less than 20 minutes to go, first a free kick that led to a corner which led to a header that just missed the far post.

With less than 12 minutes before half, FPU created their best chance in the flow of play, creating a one-on-one with the keeper, but a Dominican save kept the score level.

The Sunbirds would earn another free kick in the attacking third with under eight and half minutes remaining, but Dominican quickly turned possession to the other side of the field.

While the score line remained level into halftime, Fresno Pacific quickly struck as Fabricio Saboya found Cesar Melgar to give the Sunbirds a 1-0 lead.

"Fabricio won the ball by sheer hustle and found Cesar center right and got a foot on it to beat the keeper," Ramirez said in praise of the effort. "Our left footed Cesar, scored with his right foot."

"It lifted a burden, a weight that the guys have been feeling having been shutout. We've still been having a good run-in play in all of those games. There were plenty of good opportunities weren't falling. Credit to them for continuing to work hard. Today, we did it out of effort."

The score remained that way for nearly 25 minutes before FPU drew a foul in the box to earn a free kick. Omri Schwartz cashed it in to give the Sunbirds a 2-0 lead.

"It was a chess match until the first goal," Ramirez said. "It's one of those situations where its much needed and gives us confidence to say that we can do it by working hard. Today everybody ran their hearts out."

While Dominican registered more shots on goal, Carballo's five saves kept the clean sheet for Fresno Pacific.

"Elmer was fantastic today," Ramirez added of his keeper. "The way he played really helped our confidence and they guys responded well to that. The effort was fantastic all-around."

Fresno Pacific finishes the non-conference portion of the schedule with its biggest win of the young season, derailing the team with the best non-conference record in the PacWest.

The Sunbirds will return home to begin the conference portion of the schedule, hosting Holy Names Saturday at 7:30 p.m. on Ramirez Field as apart of Gather weekend.

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