Sunbirds Send Eagles to Second-Straight Loss, 3-0

Box Score 

(10/20/07 - Men's Soccer) IRVINE - Two goals inside the final 2:18 of the game helped #11-ranked Fresno Pacific finish off a 3-0 win over #1-ranked Concordia, Saturday afternoon in Golden State Athletic Conference play.

The Eagles suffered their second loss to wrap up a week they would just assume forget. The team was outscored 7-0 in its two losses and went from being undefeated and holding the top spot in the nation to no better than second place in the GSAC and a national ranking that is sure to dip. Compounding their misery was the news that league-leading Azusa Pacific drew 1-1 at Point Loma Nazarene, a result that would have kept the door open for the Eagles in the GSAC race.

The Sunbirds scored the only goal they would need on the first scoring chance of the game. A foul 30 yards from the Concordia goal on the right wing was fired into the box by Gabriel Ramirez. The ball sailed through a host of bodies, but was met by Cameron HIll, who nodded into the left corner of the net just 4:05 into the contest.

After a few more uneasy moments, the Eagles settled in and controlled a great deal of the possession for the rest of the first half. Both Eric Mendoza and Jeff Clark had short-range shots go just wide while both Clark and Joel Smith also narrowly missed on headers to finish the half trailing.

The second half saw the Eagles press for an equalizer, but the final pass continued to be lacking and attacks were thwarted by a stout Fresno Pacific defense. The turning point the match came as the Eagles took their best chance of the game, but came up short.

Clark made a run down the right side and chipped the ball into the box, where Jon Fahey connected on the pass for a short-range header. Brandon Cave got a hand on it, but the ball remained loose. The Eagles throught they had pushed the ball across the line, but Cave was ruled to have kept it out and play continued.

The Eagles threw more numbers forward, but as their attacks came up short, they were left exposed in the back. Mike Borst thwarted a pair of breakaway attempts with the Eagles caught up, but the third time was the charm for the Sunbirds.

An errant clearance out of the back by the Eagles allowed Andres Blanco to put Adrian Alvarado in on goal. This time, Alvarado gave the Sunbirds the insurance goal they would need with a shot to the right corner from 15 yards out.

The Sunbirds tacked on a third with just 11 seconds remaining as Alvarado gave the ball to Pablo Campos near the corner of the Concordia box and Campos fired a pinpoint shot into the top right corner of the net.

Concordia (13-2-0, 7-2-0 GSAC) wraps up conference play this Tuesday, October 23 on Senior Day against #14-ranked Point Loma Nazarene at 3:00 p.m.