SEASIDE, Calif. — On Thursday afternoon, Fresno Pacific men's soccer jumped to an early 1-0 lead against (RV) Cal State Monterey Bay (8-2-3, 4-1-3) but the Otters came back to make it 2-1. The Sunbirds finished with 16 shots, including 11 in the second half, but were held scoreless after halftime.
The Sunbirds struck early on
Beau Brusseau's goal off
Daniel Perez's assist at 1:15, but CSUMB equalized at 7:47 and the first half ended tied 1-1. It marked Brusseau's third goal of the season. Cal State Monterey Bay held a 7-5 shot edge and forced FPU's goalkeeper
Nick Hardiman into four saves, while the Sunbirds generated all three corner kicks in the half.
After halftime, the Sunbirds pushed ahead and worked their way upfield time and time again. The Blue and Orange forced the Otter goalkeeper into five saves in the second half. A handful of the 'Birds shots-on-goal were made by
Shogo Haraikawa. At 82:29, FPU was given a penalty kick opportunity, but
Zion Vaughn's shot sailed over the goal and kept it tied at 1.
As time ran out, chaos erupted as CSUMB scored the half's only goal at 86:34, with a shot that sailed deep into the right side of the net, leaving the Sunbirds with a 2-1 loss.
The Sunbirds are 5-8-1 overall and 2-6-0 in conference play. Vaughn leads the CCAA in goals scored (9) and total points (20), and ranks tenth in game-winning goals.
Bryan Lopez ranks fifth in assists with five under his belt.
The CCAA Championships is now a seven-team championship event with No. 2-No. 7 seeds playing on campus sites on Sunday, Nov. 1. Winners will advance to Pomona, where the top seed awaits, for the semifinal matches. The 'Birds have four matches remaining before postseason kicks off.
To view the CCAA standings and leaderboard, CLICK HERE.
NEXT UP: The 'Birds are celebrating senior day on Saturday, October 17th! The Blue and Orange will face Cal Poly Humboldt at 3pm and will take the time to recognize the seniors on the team. Come cheer on your Sunbirds at Ramirez Field!
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