FRESNO, Calif. - In one of the more thrilling and feral games played all season, the FPU men's soccer team emerged on top of Jessup 2-1 thanks to second half goals from Sean Williamson and Brandon Lopez.

The win is now two in a row for the Sunbirds, who find themselves right back in the thick of the PacWest Tournament race at 3-3 with five games to go.  

Just like in their weekend win over Academy of Art, FPU went down 1-0 in the first half.  This time thanks to an Issac Morin strike in the 26th minute that was able to sneak past FPU 'keeper Elmer Carballo.  But the second half began quickly for the 'Birds who equalized in the 48th minute.  Kevin Closson flung a cross into the box and it went unplayed by the Jessup 'keeper, and it was chested into open space by Stephan Morris for Lopez who took a mid-air swing and connected on the shot sending it into the net from close range.

The FPU pressure led to more chances for the Sunbirds, and in the 57th minute Williamson powered a header toward the near post for his first goal of the season.  It come off a Lucas Ribeiro corner to the far post, and Williamson climbed the ladder to connect on the cross and redirect it into the net with power and precision.  

"The whole team stepped up with a different level of intensity in the second half," said Sunbirds Associate Head Coach Cameron Shahrokhi.  "Our team overcame a ton of adversity and stuck together. Two set piece goals to flip the script of the match."

Ten minutes later, the game was back hanging on a knife edge for FPU.  Williamson made a clumsy challenge in the box and awarded Jessup with a penalty.  Jalen Scott stepped up for the visiting Warriors, but his left-sided strike was emphatically shoved away by Carballo to keep the score 2-1 in favor of the Sunbirds.  It was a moment that blew the figurative roof off Ramirez Field, and was easily one of the season's most exciting moments.

FPU appeared to be cruising to victory until there was less than 10 minutes to play.  In a quick, frantics series of events, Jessup appeared to try and speed up the pace of play on a corner kick and aggressively bodied Carballo into the turf, who was holding the ball at the time.  In defense of his keeper, Ernesto Aguilera received a yellow card.  Carballo remained on the turf for over a minute, and when he finally rose to his feet following the blindside hit he conversed briefly with the ref who quickly pulled out and displayed a straight red to the FPU 'keeper.  It was otherwise a career day of Carballo up until that point.  The referee struggled mightily to control the game for the rest of the contest and by the time the final buzzer sounded FPU was relieved to end up on top.  The Sunbirds are expected to discuss the sending off decision with the league office.  

Up next for the Sunbirds is the Hawaii trip, with stops at Hawaii Pacific, Chaminade, and Hawaii-Hilo all within a six-day span.  It's an important three-game stretch, with conference powers Point Loma and Biola waiting for them when they return to close out the season in Fresno.  Action kicks off Monday at 7:30pm PT against the Sharks of Hawaii Pacific, and will be streaming on the PacWest Network.  


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