FRESNO, Calif. - A second half brace from Azusa Pacific's Jaci Maze was enough to sink the FPU Women 2-1 and end their four-game unbeaten run.

Two straight wins and four consecutive clean sheets had the Sunbirds confident heading into the contest.  But the Cougars came in undefeated, and very much looked like a side who are currently averaging 2.5 goals per game.  The visitors controlled the game early with their cohesive passing and were constantly making deep runs into the FPU final third.  It was the Sunbirds, however, who drew first blood in the 30th minute when Gizelle Aguirre was able to bury a ball misplayed through the legs of APU keeper Maddie Williams.  It was Aguirre's second goal in as many games and FPU's only shot all evening long.

Sunbirds keeper Monique Nevarez single-handedly kept the Cougars off the scoreboard in the 38th minute with a save that may be one of the best the NCAA will see all season.  Nevarez made a low block on APU's Annabelle Sandobal's shot that deflected directly in front of Cougars teammate Zoey Kuhn.  It was a surefire no-doubter of a goal until Nevarez leapt off the turf and dove full-stretched to deny the point blank shot with two hands.  It was a moment that left the crowd at Ramirez Field stunned by what they witnessed.  The 'Birds went into the intermission up 1-0 thanks to the heroics of Nevarez, who had 6 first half saves.  

FPU's streak of just over 400 minutes played without conceding a goal ended less than two minutes into the second frame when Nevarez misplayed a ball through her legs that APU star Jaci Maze was able to control and tap in.  The sequence of events was almost a carbon copy of Aguirre's 30th minute strike.  APU broke the deadlock five minutes later when Avery Guiel threaded a perfect pass to Maze who buried her second goal of the half from inside the 6 yard box.  The Cougars never took their foot off the gas and were relentless til the final whistle.  Their perfect positioning and marking made it challenging for the Sunbirds to maintain possession let alone develop a fluid counter attack.  

For the 'Birds, who fall to 2-3-2 and 1-1-0 in PacWest play, it was a game in which they were able to assess where they stand against a potential conference juggernaut in 2024.  Midfielder Madisyn Anderson made her second start of the season and played the full 90 minutes along with Nevarez and central defender Karyssa Lopez.

Unfortunately it doesn't get any easier for FPU as their next game is against a Concordia side who, like APU, stand undefeated at 5-0-1 on the year.  CUI sharpshooter Hailey Havican is the league's co-top scorer (tied with APU's Maze) with 6 goals, and the Eagles have yet to concede a goal in 2024.  The action kicks off from Irvine on Saturday at 6:30pm PT, and is also streaming on the PacWest Network.  


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