FRESNO, Calif.- The Fresno Pacific Sunbirds dropped their first WWPA conference game of the year Friday night against the Biola Eagles 15-9 at the Sunnyside Aquatics Center.
Biola came out strong scoring two unanswered goals.
The Sunbirds finally responded when
Eugenio Maldonado scored on a power play, followed by a goal from
Forrest Gray at 3:14 to level the score at 2-2, ending the first period in a tie.
The second period saw Biola's offense explode, scoring six goals compared to Fresno's two.
Maldonado scored early to bring the 'Birds back within one.
However, Biola's offense picked up momentum,adding another goal on a power play, followed by multiple scores by the Eagles.
Christian Clark managed to score for the 'Birds with an assist from
Samuel Ramos, but Biola's offensive push left them leading 8-4 at halftime.
The Sunbirds showed resilience in the third period as they worked to close the gap.
Biola scored again early with another pair of goals.
However, Fresno Pacific fought back, with Tristin Fox scoring an exclusion goal, followed by a penalty shot converted by
Pietro Cattano with just 5 seconds left.
The period ended with Biola holding a 10-6 advantage.
The fourth period was a high-scoring affair as both teams pushed the pace.
Clark opened with a goal for the 'Birds, assisted by Maldonado.
Biola answered immediately with another duo of goals, and despite Maldonado scoring his third goal for FPU, Biola continued to pull away with three aditional goals.
Clark managed to score one final goal for the ;'Birds with just 21 seconds left, but Biola secured a commanding 15-9 victory.
The Sunbirds will look to bounce back quickly as they host the Concordia University Irvine Eagles Saturday at 1pm for another WWPA matchup.
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