HAYWARD, Calif. — Competing up in the Bay area, Fresno Pacific men's soccer battled Cal State East Bay on Sunday morning, falling 3-2 to the Pioneers after holding a 2-1 lead at halftime.
Freshman
Nixon Hansen powered the Sunbirds' first-half attack, scoring both of Fresno Pacific's goals for the first brace of his career. Hansen opened the scoring after finishing a corner kick from
Bryan Lopez, then doubled the advantage later in the half when he converted a through ball from
Cole Keeslar.
Cal State East Bay continued to pressure the 'Birds throughout the opening half, generating 13 shots, but goalkeeper
Arturo Alegria kept Fresno Pacific in front with five saves. The Sunbirds also earned five corner kicks and nearly added a third goal when Lopez stepped up for a penalty kick just before halftime.
"It was a tough result for us today," said head coach
Cameron Shahrokhi. "Our guys played really well for stretches of the game. Unfortunately, the referees' decision to give us a straight red card and have us play down a man for 30 minutes really altered the match."
Fresno Pacific carried its 2-1 advantage into the second half before a red card at 62:35 shifted the momentum. Playing a man down, the 'Birds surrendered the equalizer as the Pioneers leveled the match at 2-2. Cal State East Bay continued to press in the closing stages and found the decisive goal in the 84th minute, completing the comeback and securing the 3-2 victory.
"We have to get over it quickly and prepare for Dominguez Hills. We don't have any time to feel sorry for ourselves. There were a lot of positives to build on and we will continue to work hard daily."
The Sunbirds move to 4-4-1 overall and 1-2-0 in CCAA play.
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