RIVERSIDE, Calif.-Despite matching their opponents shot for shot throughout the contest, the Fresno Pacific Sunbirds (0-1 overall) fell 9-8 to the Cal State Fullerton Titans (3-5 overall) Thursday night at the Lancer Joust to open the season.

Fresno Pacific tied the game repeatedly in the second half and had the ball in the final minute with a chance to do it again late.

But a few missed powerplays early and a few timely stops by the opposition prevented Fresno Pacific from picking up the win despite a sterling opener.

The Sunbirds opened their season with extreme enthusiasm from the moment the ball hit the water as Rosemary Chapman won the sprint and possession for Fresno Pacific.

It took a couple of minutes, but Bella Alcazar opened the scoring and found her second goal just a minute later to give the Sunbirds a 2-0 lead.

Cal State Fullerton responded and tied the game by the end of the quarter but goalie Regan Azevedo made a pair of saves to keep it level.

The Titans snuck in one more goal on a power play with just sixteen seconds in the first quarter to take the lead. It was the first powerplay goal for Fullerton out of three tries, as the FPU defense had withstood a pair of exclusions before ceding the lead.

Hannah Walker tied the game with three minutes left in the half, but Cal State Fullerton responded with a pair of goals a minute apart to take a 5-3 lead into halftime.

Walker sparked the offense again in the third quarter, pulling FPU within one after four minutes of play in the period.

Azevedo made a pair of saves to keep it within reach before Fresno Pacific turned defense into offense and setup Tatum Benson's goal, tying the game at 5-5.

The Sunbirds had a chance to take the lead at the end of the quarter, but a Fullerton save led to the Titans finding the net for the first time in the period and regaining a 6-5 advantage.

Fresno Pacific finally made good on the powerplay in the fourth quarter. After three unsuccessful attempts, Benson took advantage of the numbers to tie the game at 6 midway through the period.

The Sunbirds had a chance to take the lead on another powerplay the next trip down, but Fullerton got the stop and quickly converted on the other end to regain the lead.

However, FPU earned another exclusion and Benson converted again to knot the game up at 7.

Fullerton would recover the lead a minute later, but Walker tallied her third goal of the game to tie it again at 8.

The Titans answered back immediately for a 9-8 lead with less than 2:30 to play.

The Sunbirds took a timeout with 45 seconds remaining, but the potential game-tying shot was denied by Fullerton's goalie.

Walker and Benson each finished with three goals apiece to lead the Sunbirds.

Rosemary Chapman led FPU with three steals and an assist.

Fresno Pacific continues the Lancer Joust on Friday with a pair of games. They take on Azusa Pacific at 12:30 p.m. and then wrap up the day against the University of the Pacific at 5:30 p.m. Live stats of both games can be found on the fpuathletics.com schedule or on the Cal Baptist tournament central page.