FRESNO, Calif.- Tatum Benson's hot-start and Katie Whittingham clutch led to Natalie Kisling's game winner in double-overtime as the Fresno Pacific Sunbirds (12-13 overall, 2-2 WWPA) clung to an 11-10 win over the Cal State East Bay Pioneers (13-13 overall, 3-2 WWPA) Saturday afternoon at the Sunnyside Aquatics Center.
 
FPU tallied just its third win over CSUEB in program history and first win since 2019, rallying behind Benson's hot-start and stellar defense throughout the game.
 
The Sunbirds never trailed at any point in the game but had to cultivate multiple leads as the Pioneers seemed to answer ever big swing with a counter-punch.
 
Benson scored twice in the first two minutes of the game as FPU jumped out to a 2-0 lead but Bailey Barlow answered with two goals for CSUEB to tie it.
 
Bella Alcazar regained the lead for FPU, rebounding a deflected shot and depositing in the back of the cage before Luna Sarmiento scored before the end of the quarter for the Pioneers.
 
Both defenses but their stamp on the second quarter with Maddie Murad scoring the lone goal for Fresno Pacific in the period but the Pioneers tallied one just before the half to tie the game at 4 heading into halftime.
 
The Sunbirds developed their biggest advantage at the start of the 2^nd half.
 
Emily Lopez-Ibarra, Rosemary Chapman, Sam Dieterle, and Benson all scored to stake FPU out to an 8-5 lead at the start of the fourth.
 
But East Bay scored four times, only interrupted by Kisling's first goal split after the second of the flurry, to tie the game at 9 and force overtime.
 
In overtime, Benson struck first for the quick advantage and Kisling added one more.
 
East Bay scored late in the 2^nd overtime period but struggled to find the equalizer.
 
Whittingham was a key force for FPU, anchoring a defense that challenged shots left and right.
 
The shots that did get through were met by Whittingham, who forced the Pioneers to be creative to find any goal scoring opportunities.
 
The win is huge for the Sunbirds who will now have an opportunity to finish the conference season above .500 by winning their final two road contests at Biola and East Bay.
 
Its also just the third time that FPU has knocked off East Bay in 28 meetings between the programs.
 
Both of Fresno Pacific's wins during the two school's history came in the 2019 season. The Sunbirds snapped an initial 20-game losing streak with a 12-11 win three years ago, mirroring the 12-11 double-overtime win that snaps a five-game losing streak in 2023.
 
Fresno Pacific sets off for the rest of the season, concluding with two WWPA conference road games at Biola and East Bay over the next two weeks.
 
They will fly to Illinois for the WWPA championships April 28^th-30^th.
 
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